Overview

• A perspective in CDC’s Emerging Infectious Diseases from researchers at Texas A&M, the University of Florida and Texas DSHS urges reclassification to improve awareness, screening and surveillance.
• Triatomine ‘kissing bugs’ are confirmed in 32 states, and locally acquired human infections have been documented in at least eight states, with Texas leading reported local cases.
• An estimated 280,000 to 300,000 people in the U.S. carry Chagas disease, and California likely has the largest share at roughly 70,000 to 100,000, though most confirmed state cases to date were acquired abroad.
• Studies show substantial parasite circulation in some hotspots, such as about one‑third of sampled kissing bugs in Los Angeles’ Griffith Park, with wildlife and dogs acting as reservoirs that sustain transmission.
• Chagas is not nationally notifiable, contributing to underdiagnosis; early antiparasitic treatment can be curative, yet many infections are detected only through blood-donor screening, and no federal reclassification has been announced.