Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.wwl.com/pages/16375736.php?contentType=4&contentId=13071215
Posted: Friday, 17 May 2013 6:28AM
Kissing bugs in New Orleans may carry the kiss of death
Don Ames Reporting
When Loyola University biology professor Dr. Patricia Dorn, in collaboration with researchers at Tulane University and Louisiana State University Health Sciences centers, discovered the first case of deadly Chagas disease acquired in Louisiana, they knew they had evidence of a troubling trend.
Chagas disease, West Nile and other neglected tropical diseases are emerging as health threats in the state.
Experts are concerned that post-hurricane conditions create an ideal environment for insects that transmit the tropical diseases...
"...They're not uncommon at all in the New Orleans area," she says. "In fact, we've collected more than 500 of the kissing bugs in New Orleans. We're finding that the bugs are in contact with humans and are feeding on them quite frequently."
And, she says the kissing bugs found in this area are nasty critters...more so than the ones found their endemic areas of Latin America.
"The bugs that are here are highly infected," she says. "More than half of them are carrying the Chagas parasite."
The parasite doesn't limit its victims to people.
"We've lost many dogs, especially around the Atchafalaya Basin, to Chagas Disease..."
Posted: Friday, 17 May 2013 6:28AM
Kissing bugs in New Orleans may carry the kiss of death
Don Ames Reporting
When Loyola University biology professor Dr. Patricia Dorn, in collaboration with researchers at Tulane University and Louisiana State University Health Sciences centers, discovered the first case of deadly Chagas disease acquired in Louisiana, they knew they had evidence of a troubling trend.
Chagas disease, West Nile and other neglected tropical diseases are emerging as health threats in the state.
Experts are concerned that post-hurricane conditions create an ideal environment for insects that transmit the tropical diseases...
"...They're not uncommon at all in the New Orleans area," she says. "In fact, we've collected more than 500 of the kissing bugs in New Orleans. We're finding that the bugs are in contact with humans and are feeding on them quite frequently."
And, she says the kissing bugs found in this area are nasty critters...more so than the ones found their endemic areas of Latin America.
"The bugs that are here are highly infected," she says. "More than half of them are carrying the Chagas parasite."
The parasite doesn't limit its victims to people.
"We've lost many dogs, especially around the Atchafalaya Basin, to Chagas Disease..."