Louisiana, Texas Warned About Potentially Deadly ‘Kissing Bug’

Lafayette, Louisiana (KMDL-FM) - Have you ever heard of the "Kissing Bug"?

It hunts at night for blood, including human blood.

Currently, this bug is being found in 32 States across the U.S. including Louisiana and Texas, and officials are warning residents that the kissing bug can spread a deadly parasitic infection.

Here's what you need to know...

States With The Kissing Bug

The kissing bug (Triatoma species, also called assassin bugs or conenose bugs) is found mainly in the southern United States, but it is increasingly being found all across the United States.

Two of these States include Louisiana and Texas.

Usually, kissing bugs are most common in Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico, but are currently spreading to more and more States.

READ MORE: Venomous Asian Needle Ants Found in Louisiana

These bugs often live around rodent nests, wood piles, and outdoor structures like dog kennels or bird coops, and can also find their way into homes.

During the day they stay kind of hidden in rocks and sidewalk cracks, but at night the kissing bug comes out to feed.

Kissing bugs look a lot like stink bugs, but kissing bugs bite humans.

From nypost.com -

At least eight Americans have caught Chagas disease through local transmission, leading scientists to urge the CDC and WHO to officially declare the life-threatening illness endemic in the US.

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Why Is The Kissing Bug Dangerous?

The thing with the kissing bug isn't necessarily the bug itself, but the dangerous parasite that some of the kissing bugs carry.

The infection isn't just dangerous, it can be deadly.

The deadly parasite is called Trypanosoma cruzi, and it's carried by about 55% of the kissing bugs currently in the United States.

READ MORE: The Five Most Dangerous Spiders in Louisiana

According to webmd.com, some people can develop allergic responses to kissing bug bites, or even to their saliva, which can cause redness, swelling, welts, hives, or in some cases, dangerous anaphylaxis.

Other symptoms from the kissing bug include fever, fatigue, body aches, headache, rash, loss of appetite, diarrhea, and vomiting.

Read more over at newsbreak.com.