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Triatoma infestans, commonly called winchuka [1] or vinchuca [2] in Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay and Chile, barbeiro in Brazil, chipo in Venezuela and also known as "kissing bug" or "barber bug" in English, is a blood-sucking bug (like virtually all the members of its subfamily Triatominae) and the most important vector of Trypanosoma cruzi which can lead to Chagas disease.
The members of the Triatominae / t r aɪ. ə ˈ t ɒ m ɪ n iː /, a subfamily of the Reduviidae, are also known as conenose bugs, kissing bugs (so-called from their habit of feeding from around the mouths of people), [1] or vampire bugs. Other local names for them used in the Americas include barbeiros, vinchucas, pitos, chipos and chinches.
Triatoma is a genus of assassin bug in the subfamily Triatominae (kissing bugs). The members of Triatoma (like all members of Triatominae) are blood-sucking insects that can transmit serious diseases, such as Chagas disease. Their saliva may also trigger allergic reactions in sensitive individuals, up to and including severe anaphylactic shock. [1]
The name 'kissing bug' doesn't quite communicate the danger of the infection that insects with that moniker can spread. A dangerous parasitic illness spread by bugs that bite people's faces at ...
The female Triatoma sanguisuga typically lays eggs four to six days after a blood meal. One female may lay hundreds of eggs in its lifetime. After the egg hatches, the immature bug takes a blood meal and molts eight times before reaching maturity. Triatoma sanguisuga feeds on blood from mammals such as raccoons, rats, dogs, cats, and humans. In ...
Kissing bugs got their interesting nickname because they favor biting human faces and lips at night. And the parasite they leave behind causes Chagas disease.
This species and other "kissing bugs" are vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi, the protozoan that causes Chagas disease. [4] This species is between 0.5 and 0.75 inches long. It is dark brown to black in color with a lighter margin along the abdomen. The wings lie flat across the back. The "beak" has three segments and curls beneath the head.
T. cruzi is commonly spread to humans and other mammals by the kissing bug's bite wound and the bug's infected feces. [5] The disease may also be spread through blood transfusion , organ transplantation , consuming food or drink contaminated with the parasites, and vertical transmission (from a mother to her baby). [ 1 ]