9% of Dogs in Texas found to carry Kissing Bug disease

9% of Dogs in Texas found to carry Kissing Bug Disease

Last updated on August 25, 2016 By Puppy Leaks 2 comments
Have you heard of Kissing Bug Disease? known officially as Chagas disease it’s transmitted through nocturnal insects known as Kissing Bugs.

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Chagas disease has infected millions of people in central America, Mexico, and South America has made it’s way to Texas, but now it’s becoming prevalent amongst dogs in Texas.

How Chagas disease is Transmitted

The parasite Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi) is the causative agent of Chagas disease. It’s a tropical disease that effects 8 million people across Mexico and central and South America.

Most cases of Chagas are transmitted to humans from direct contact with the feces of an infected bug. Kissing bugs bite humans, suck their blood and then leave feces behind that may penetrate the skin.

Other ways people can get Chagas include:

Organ transplantation

Blood transfusion

Congenital transmission (mother to baby)

Consumption of uncooked contaminated food

So while it’s quite alarming that the disease has been spreading in the southern U.S. keep in mind the chances of you getting it directly from your canine are very slim.

Infection rate in the United States

In the united states the infection rate is estimated to be between 300,000 and 1 million. many human infections are likely due to exposure in Latin America. Both humans and dogs are succeptible to the disease.

Symptoms of Chagas Disease

Symptoms of Chagas disease in humans and dogs range from completely asymptomatic to acute myocarditis and sudden death to chronic progressive cardiac disease. There is no vaccine available for humans or dogs. currently there are no Food and drug administration approved drugs available to U.S. citizens to treat Chagas. numerous of the treatments available are only effective if the disease is caught in its early stages though the medications are typically not well tolerated.

Since the Texas department of state health began tracking the disease in 2013 only 19 human cases have been found.

Evidence That disease has Been Spreading, especially among Dogs

Researchers have found evidence that the disease has been spreading in Texas and new Orleans. The research team based at Texas A&M evaluated 205 shelter dogs in Texas, 9% of the dogs in every part of the state evaluated positive. The study only evaluated shelter dogs but it’s common amongst all dogs across the state.

 Shelter dogs had widespread exposure to T. cruzi across 7 ecologic regions in Texas, with a conservative statewide average of 8.8% seroprevalence. -CDC

Chances of catching It From Your Are canine incredibly Low

The chances of a canine passing the parasite onto his owner is very low. For the parasite to pass from a canine to a person it needs to go through the kissing bug. The only way a human can become infected through there canine is if the kissing bug bites the canine and then rapidly moves onto bite the owner after the canine has been infected.

“The last thing we want to do is put a bad taste in people’s mouths about shelter dogs,” she says. “Shelter dogs are not posing a direct risk to humans.” – Dogs carry Kissing Bug disease in Texas & Latin America

If dogs in Texas are bitten by a kissing bug the chances of the bug carrying the parasite that causes Chagas are quite high. seven species of these kissing bugs known as Triatoma have been found across the state. keeping your canine indoors or in an outdoor enclosed kennel can decrease the risk of your canine coming into contact with kissing bugs.

Dogs vulnerable to catching the Kissing Bug

Dogs reaching shelters, particularly stray dogs, are vulnerable due to their prolonged exposure to the outdoors which leads to a much higher exposure rate to vectorborne pathogens.

Since the kissing bug itself isn’t common outside of southern & central Texas the disease is still considered quite rare in the United States

So while it’s perfectly fine to be aware that there’s a potential new health risk spreading we don’t need to worry about catching it from our dogs. So go ahead and give your canine a kiss – you won’t catch the kissing bug from him.

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