The following was received from Marge – one of my church friends.  It is about a new bug that has arrived and which we need to be aware.

kommonsentsjane

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Subject: Deadly Kissing Bug – Information on new insect-borne disease.

Friends: I just thought I should share this email for the content therein. I left the sequence of emails so it made better sense. Please take the time to open the two sites below for all the detailed information. This bug looks similar to the harlequin beetle but the coloration is different and it could be very dangerous. Yet another consequence of cross border travelers and probably shipment of produce and plants. We are no longer a protected nation!! Be aware.!

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Thanks. I had heard of the ‘Assassin bug’ but not as referred to as the Kissing Bug but I had not heard that they carry the disease called Chagas. That sounds scary and I wonder if your friend has been infected and doesn’t know it? Did he have his blood tested? I would be inclined to contact the people who wrote these articles and learn more –especially what the two known cures are since it can lay dormant while doing damage to one’s heart muscle and other organs. At our ages, we probably will outlive the consequences of the disease but a younger person I would think has a greater risk. In either event I think it is prudent to keep an eye out for this bug and destroy any seen.

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Tuesday, September 22, 2015

I got this from a friend in our Texas Native Plant Society club. First I have heard of this new problem.

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Sep 21, 2015, 10:36:31 PM

I talked to someone in Kerrville today who was bitten by a kissing bug while working at his desk at home. He did not feel the bite, but saw the bug and killed it and it was full of blood. That’s when he found the bite on his foot; he was wearing sandals. The next day his foot and entire leg were swollen.

Once he ID’d the bug and found out about the danger of a bite, he called his doctor, the CDC, the hospital and other places, but was told there was nothing they could do. The disease—Chagas Disease—can even be fatal and affects animals too. He did not get Chagas from the bite, but many do. His wife did a search outside their home and killed 10 of them one night.

One link below is to a Forbes article on the kissing bug; the other is about the status of the problem in Texas. Please study the picture below and kill these bugs when you see them! They are very dangerous both to you and to your pets. There is a huge problem with dogs in kennels getting bitten. These bugs are spreading through Texas. In the first link below the author says hotspots are San Antonio, Houston and Dallas. There are many more articles if you do a search. They are called kissing bugs, because they come out of hiding at night and a favorite place to bite is on the face and lips! Be vigilant!
http://www.texaswildlifeguy.com/recent-articles/a-serious-epidemic-could-looming-in-texas-chagas-disease/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2012/05/31/is-the-deadly-kissing-bug-disease-the-new-hivaids/