Laboratorio de Entomología, Instituto de la Patagonia, Universidad de Magallanes, Punta Arenas, Chile.
Bombero Rojas, La Serena, Chile.
J Med Entomol. 2020 Jan 9;57(1):297-303. doi: 10.1093/jme/tjz127.
Leptoglossus occidentalis (Heidemann) is an invasive species introduced in Europe, Asia, and most recently South America. In the present study, we report the overreaction situation caused by this bug in Chile, as it has been confused with kissing bugs (Reduviidae: Triatominae), Chagas' disease vectors. During 2018 and first months of 2019, we received 74 alleged cases of kissing bugs to confirm identification. From these, a total of 63 were identified as L. occidentalis, representing a 85% of the total denounces. Additionally, the first bite case in a human is described. The situation caused by L. occidentalis in Chile is discussed, and an illustrated table is provided to correctly identify this species and tell it apart from Triatomines. It is concluded that L. occidentalis is well established in Chile, and it is necessary to educate the population on recognition of the bug and to avoid overreaction as the species can inflict painful bites, but not transmit any disease.
西方盲蝽（Heidemann）是一种入侵物种，已引入欧洲、亚洲，最近又引入南美洲。在本研究中，我们报告了这种昆虫在智利引起的过度反应情况，因为它与接吻虫（Reduviidae：Triatominae），即恰加斯病的传播媒介相混淆。在 2018 年和 2019 年初，我们收到了 74 起涉嫌接吻虫的案件以确认鉴定。其中，共有 63 例被鉴定为西方盲蝽，占总投诉的 85%。此外，还描述了首例人类被叮咬的病例。本文讨论了西方盲蝽在智利引起的情况，并提供了一个插图表格来正确识别这种物种，并将其与接吻虫区分开来。结论是，西方盲蝽在智利已大量存在，有必要对民众进行关于识别该物种的教育，避免过度反应，因为该物种会造成疼痛的叮咬，但不会传播任何疾病。
