The Silent Killer: More than a bug bite
If you’re a living, breathing mammal, you could be at risk.
Lurking in between the blades of your grass, hunting for its next meal - The Silent Killer.
It’s scientific name is Trypanosoma Cruzi. Some medical professionals have dubbed it the 21st century version of Heartworm Disease in pets.
You will probably recognize the name a majority call it: The Kissing Bug.
The Kissing Bug isn’t carrying what other bugs or animals carry. It’s not a spider with venom or a raccoon with rabies. When those bite you, there are symptoms.
When the kissing bug bites, it’s something you may not notice, sort of like a mosquito. But it’s not the bite carrying the disease, it’s the feces it leaves behind.
Doctor Roy Madigan is the Veterinarian Director of the Smithson Valley Animal Hospital right here locally. He sat down to explain it.
“Those bugs, when they’re taking a blood meal, or when they’re feeding, they will actually defecate," Dr. Madigan explains. “They defecate into the wound they just poked a hole into on the skin of a mammal and through that wound, the parasite is transmitted through the feces and into the blood stream.”
The parasite he’s talking about is Chagas. Per the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, it’s not something to scoff at. The CDC estimates more than 300,000 in America carry the disease.
Chagas is a sneaky one. It’s got either an acute or chronic phase, neither is the one you want.
During its acute phase, you’ll see little to no symptoms. One may suffer through a fever, fatigue, aches, headache or other symptoms easily mistaken with something else. If left untreated, Chagas stays in the body as it attacks the heart muscle or brain and can become deadly.
It has another phase, called its ‘chronic’ phase. This can last for decades, sometimes even a lifetime and still won’t show symptoms.
“At any given time, this organism can cause what’s called an arrhythmia, which is an abnormal electrical conduction of the heart,” Dr. Madigan said. “If it does that, the first symptom might be death.”
Without treatment, the disease can turn into cardiac complications, esophagus and colon issues, which lead to death.
Pets could face sudden death.
The disease is typically associated with third-world countries in poverty, the CDC says so online.
Dr. Madigan says they’re all over America, though. Reports have surfaced as far north as New York, as far northwest as Oregon and as far south as San Antonio.
“These kissing bugs aren’t aware that we broke off from Mexico a couple hundred years ago, they weren’t aware of that,” Dr. Madigan says. “So, they have no respect to any boundaries, as far as that goes geographically. These bugs are very competent at adapting to their environment.”
The bug can survive anywhere, from ranches in The Hill Country, apartments on the South Side to homes in Stone Oak and apartments in the Medical Center. Anywhere.
Research shows 60 percent of kissing bugs are carriers. Go back 10 years and the number was 40 percent.
Years ago, multiple children died in a Venezuelan Elementary school after an accidental outbreak. Dr. Madigan’s studies show 30 percent of dogs tested already have the disease.
Still, professionals aren’t trained to look for the disease immediately.
“We’re all still trained that this is not a disease we have here, this is a disease of poverty, of impoverished countries, poor hygiene and that kind of thing,” Dr. Madigan said.
Dr. Madigan does note blood transfusions for humans did begin to be tested in 2007 for Chagas disease. Dogs and cats aren’t checked.
Dr. Madigan knows so much about the bugs and the disease in its holster thanks to more than 15 years of research.
He tells me he began studying them in 2004 when a dog from a local shelter came into his office. The dog died from heart failure.
“We couldn’t explain it, did a little bit more digging,” Dr. Madigan explained, saying he and the staff went through extensive research. “It took about a month, but working with Texas A&M, we determined the dog had Chagas disease.”
Since, Dr. Madigan and others have been working to publish a research article on the disease, which we’ll attach in a link to the end of this story.
With San Antonio having a population of nearly 1.5 million, it’s an all you can eat buffet for the kissing bug.
“There is plenty of food for them, we’ve taken an area, we’re growing in population, it’s becoming very population-dense and these guys are just having a field day,” Madigan said. “They follow CO2 [Carbon Dioxide], so if I exhale or my dog exhales, they know that’s a blood meal.
“They don’t know if it’s me, my dog or a chicken.”
As mentioned, there are no obvious symptoms, especially in dogs. Some dogs will show up to vets and have specific issues, which could be a few things, only to later die. However, Dr. Madigan says there are tests a vet can take, if you ask for them. He recommends these at least once a year.
For humans, there’s a way to cure it. For dogs, Madigan and his group of doctors have developed a cure for dogs, which they say is awaiting FDA approval.
There are ways to keep this bug away, too. I’m told most pest professionals will know what kind of poison to use for your yard and home. But, if you’re wanting to do it yourself, Dr. Madigan recommends asking your bug guy, or using the ‘Demon’ product in your yard.
“If you see bugs, you have got to spray your environment, you don’t want these bugs around you,” Dr. Madigan said.
HUMAN ENDANGERMENT
There is space to breath, though. If your dog is infected, you can’t get it from them. If an infected animal bites you, you can worry about rabies instead of Chagas.
But there are five different ways humans can get Chagas.
- The feces of the bug when it bites you.
- Eating the bug
- Blood transfusion, though blood fusions have been screened for humans since 2007.
- Congenital Transmission (An infected pregnant mother to her baby)
- Ingestion of raw, infected meat
“The point is it is the silent killer, it can be silent for a long time and more importantly it is an epidemic, it’s increasing, it’s growing, the number of cases that we’re seeing, astronomically,” Dr. Madigan said.
In Your Pets
Dogs also show no symptoms, but it can cause heart disease, leading to an abnormal heartbeat and sudden death as well. Dr. Madigan says for each year a dog is alive in Texas, its chances of having Chagas rises two percent.
A dog who is 10 years old has a 20 percent, it doesn’t matter where it lives or how often it’s outside.
Dr. Madigan recommends Bravecto for your dogs. It’s a flea and tick medicine with the ability to kill the kissing bug once it bites your pet, keeping it from defecating. The best way to keep your dog from it, though, is keeping it away.
The dogs used in Dr. Madigans’ studies came from Texas with a few from Louisiana.
He adds this isn’t about finding a new disease, but bringing awareness to an existing one not talked about enough, one easier to contract than others. For someone who took an oath to protect your pets, he’s not just looking out for the furry part of your family.
“We want to help these dogs and cats live a long time. The cool part about it, is there is a public health about it. We have a chance to impact animals but we have a chance to impact humans as well,” Madigan said.
For those interested, you can read Dr. Madigans abstract to the study here.
You can read the study below.