Department of Immunobiology, University of Arizona, Tucson.
Department of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson.
Am J Med. 2020 Jan;133(1):108-114.e13. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2019.06.016. Epub 2019 Jul 8.
Kissing bugs are common household pests in the Desert Southwest of the United States. These hematophagous bugs enter homes and suck blood from resident humans and pets. They are vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi, an enzootic parasite in small mammals and the cause of Chagas disease in humans. Autochthonous cases of Chagas disease are rare in the United States despite the presence of the vector and parasite. Environmental and biological factors accounting for this phenomenon need studying.
Homeowners in Bisbee and Tucson, Arizona captured kissing bugs inside homes during 2017-2018. Bugs were tested for presence of T. cruzi by polymerase chain reaction. Residents bitten by kissing bugs were tested for Chagas disease by serology. We evaluated invaded homes in the 2 cities.
Three species of kissing bugs (n = 521) were collected in or near homes. Triatoma rubida was the most common triatomine in Tucson; T. recurva in Bisbee. T. protracta was uncommon. Seventeen percent of bugs captured in Bisbee and 51.1% in Tucson harbored T. cruzi. Bite victims (n = 105) recalled more than 2200 bites. Reactions to bites were common, including 32 episodes of anaphylaxis in 11 people (10.5%). Tests for Chagas disease (n = 116) were negative. Median age of houses was 91 years in Bisbee and 7 years in Tucson. Bisbee houses had pier and beam foundations. Tucson houses were built on concrete slabs.
Kissing bugs harboring T. cruzi readily entered new and old homes. Bites of humans caused severe, life-threatening reactions. There was no serological evidence of Chagas disease among those bitten.
接吻虫是美国沙漠西南部常见的家庭害虫。这些吸血昆虫进入房屋，吸食居住在其中的人类和宠物的血液。它们是克氏锥虫的载体，克氏锥虫是小型哺乳动物中的地方性寄生虫，也是人类中查加斯病的病因。尽管存在载体和寄生虫，但美国本土的查加斯病病例却很少见。需要研究造成这种现象的环境和生物学因素。
2017 年至 2018 年期间，亚利桑那州比斯诺和图森的房主在家中捕获了接吻虫。通过聚合酶链反应检测接吻虫是否存在 T. cruzi。被接吻虫叮咬的居民通过血清学检测查加斯病。我们评估了这两个城市中被入侵的房屋。
在房屋内或附近收集到三种接吻虫（n = 521）。在图森，红带扁头虻最为常见；在比斯诺，是 T. recurva。T. protracta 则很少见。在比斯诺捕获的接吻虫中有 17%携带 T. cruzi，而在图森这一比例为 51.1%。105 名叮咬受害者回忆起超过 2200 次叮咬。叮咬后的反应很常见，包括 11 人（10.5%）中有 32 例过敏反应。对 116 例查加斯病的检测均为阴性。比斯诺房屋的平均房龄为 91 年，而图森为 7 年。比斯诺的房屋采用了桩和梁基础，而图森的房屋则建在混凝土板上。
携带 T. cruzi 的接吻虫很容易进入新老房屋。人类被叮咬后会引起严重的、危及生命的反应。在被叮咬的人中，没有查加斯病的血清学证据。
