Kissing Bug Intrusions into Homes in the Southwest United States

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Kissing bugs are a nuisance insect in the Desert Southwest of the United States. As people build their homes in kissing bug habitats, bugs frequently enter the homes to obtain a blood meal from the human and pet inhabitants. Proteins in bug saliva can cause severe allergic reactions, although the bite itself is painless. Many kissing bugs harbor the parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi, in their gastrointestinal tract and pass it in their feces. This parasite causes Chagas disease in humans and many mammals, particularly in Central and South America. Fortunately, few human infections occur in the US. In this article, we investigate homes that kissing bugs have entered in the Southwest and attempt to determine the risk this poses for homeowners for infection and measures that can be taken to reduce intrusion. ABSTRACT: Kissing bugs readily enter homes in the Sonoran Desert and bite the residents. Their saliva is highly antigenic, causing local and systemic skin reactions and life-threatening anaphylaxis. We attempted to determine what characteristics of homesites may have contributed to home intrusion by kissing bugs. Extensive and detailed information about the homes and the home environment was collected from 78 homeowners in Tucson who suffered kissing bug intrusions. Homeowners collected 298 Triatoma rubida in and around their homes. Of the homes entered by kissing bugs, 29 of 46 (63%) contained bugs harboring Trypanosoma cruzi. Although in the aggregate, homeowners were bitten > 2200 times, no individual tested positive for Chagas disease (N = 116). Although yearly intrusion likely occurs in some homes, T. rubida does not domiciliate within homesites in the Desert Southwest. We conclude there is little risk to homeowners for Chagas disease given the current behavior of resident kissing bugs and absent ingesting kissing bug fecal matter.