Kissing bugs bring deadly disease to California
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First the plague reappeared in California. Now a disease you’ve probably never heard of is wreaking havoc in the Golden State.
Chagas disease, which kills more people in Latin America than malaria each year, is in California and 29 other states across the U.S.
As my colleague Susanne Rust reports, researchers think roughly 300,000 people in the U.S. currently have it but are unaware because the illness tends to lie dormant for years, only making itself known when its victim keels over via heart attack, stroke or death.
California has the largest number of people in the country infected with Chagas disease — between 70,000 and 100,000. That’s mostly because the state is home to so many people from countries where the disease is consistently present. But it’s also because the parasite and vector live here, meaning some of those cases could be homegrown.
Here’s more from experts on the insidious disease and why it’s no longer considered a threat only abroad.
How people get Chagas disease
Chagas disease is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which lives in a bloodsucking insect called the kissing bug. Susanne reports there are roughly a dozen species of kissing bugs in the U.S. and four in California known to carry the parasite.
Research has shown that in some places, such as Los Angeles’ Griffith Park, about a third of all kissing bugs harbor the Chagas disease parasite.
“This is a disease that has been neglected and has been impacting Latin Americans for many decades,” said Norman Beatty, a medical epidemiologist at the University of Florida and an expert on Chagas disease. “But it’s also here in the United States.”
“We had a kid from the Hollywood Hills who got it,” said Salvador Hernandez, a cardiologist with Kaiser Permanente in Northern California. He told Susanne that the patient had not traveled out of the country and probably got it in his leafy, affluent neighborhood, where kissing bugs are prevalent.
The parasite has also been detected in local wildlife, including wood rats, skunks and mice in Griffith Park, as well as in bats, raccoons and black bears in other parts of the state.
Chagas disease’s symptoms and treatment
Proteins in the kissing bugs’ saliva can cause swollen limbs and eyes along with anaphylaxis. But it’s the longer-term or chronic effects that cause the most harm.
Because Chagas disease symptoms are often indistinguishable from other forms of cardiac and organ damage, it’s likely that many people are showing up to their doctors’ offices with heart arrhythmia, a swollen esophagus, seizures and stroke, without ever being screened.
Although antiparasitic medications can be used to stop the illness’ progression, health experts say screenings for Chagas disease could help cure patients sooner.
“The disease is definitely underdiagnosed,” said Hernandez, the Kaiser cardiologist. “If we screened for it and caught it early, most patients could be cured. The problem is we don’t, and people end up dying or requiring terrifically expensive care,” including organ transplants and surgery.
Why Chagas disease should be labeled endemic
A team of epidemiologists, researchers and medical doctors are calling on the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to label the disease as endemic in the U.S. They hope that will bring awareness, education, dialogue and potentially public health investment to a disease that has long carried a stigma, falsely associated with poor, rural migrants from bug-infected homes in far-off tropical nations.
Although it’s not endemic in the U.S. yet, it is a reportable disease — which means physicians and health systems are required to report and investigate it — in Los Angeles and San Diego counties.
Gabriel Hamer, an entomologist at Texas A&M University, said that confirmed human cases in the U.S. represent “just the tip of the iceberg” and that nobody really knows how many people actually have the disease. “There’s no standardized reporting system. There’s no active surveillance.”
Most people find out they have the disease only after trying to donate blood, Hamer said.
Read the full story here.
Today’s top stories
At Labor Day rallies, speakers decry Trump
- Thousands of union members participated in marches, rallies and picnics on Labor Day throughout the Los Angeles region and across the country.
- They criticized Trump administration moves and said the president is undermining the government and labor-union infrastructure established to protect workers — and therefore hurting individual workers.
- A White House proclamation Monday said President Trump’s actions are “reversing decades of neglect and finally putting American Workers first.”
‘The party is in shambles.’ But some Democrats see reasons for optimism
- The Democratic Party’s standing in public opinion polls has sunk to its lowest point in more than 30 years.
- But its chances of winning next year’s congressional elections appear to be growing.
- Most Democrats agree that they need to fight Trump more vigorously, while also focusing on economic issues.
Here’s why workers unionized at Yosemite and Sequoia national parks
- For two years, labor organizers tried to unionize employees at a trio of celebrated California national parks, but they couldn’t reach critical mass.
- Now, more than 600 employees at Yosemite and Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks have unionized.
- The vote to organize comes after National Park Service endured mass firings and staff departures, affecting morale of employees.
What else is going on
- After high hopes, Hollywood’s summer box office falls flat again.
- $2.4 million for a rental: Rich tourists are already booking megamansions for the Olympics.
- A downturn in international travel to the U.S. may last beyond summer, experts warn.
- Confused about expiring energy credits under the Trump administration? Ask an “electricity coach.”
- How a Macy’s parking structure became L.A.’s latest luxury apartment complex.
Commentary and opinions
- On immigration, California Republicans still haven’t learned, writes columnist George Skelton.
- With the last kid off to college, I no longer have to juggle as much, culture critic Mary McNamara writes. So why do I feel lost?
- A Toni Morrison speech from 1995 invites us to learn from Black folks who battle racial fascism in America through belief, resistance and faith, writes guest columnist Michael Eric Dyson.
This morning’s must reads
Two men convicted of the infamous death metal-inspired 1995 killing of a 15-year-old girl in San Luis Obispo County were recently granted parole — but their younger co-defendant remains behind bars despite claims his case was mishandled and that he is intellectually disabled.
Other must reads
- They call themselves “trashers.” Together, they’re cleaning L.A.’s streets — and finding friendship.
- September is transition time in SoCal gardens. Prep now for winter greens and spring blooms.
For your downtime
Going out
- Recreation and leisure: The Altadena Town & Country Club has reopened nearly eight months after the Eaton fire.
- Dining: A Chinese bakery chain that’s landed in Beverly Hills and a vegetable-forward izakaya in Venice are among the best places to eat and drink this month.
Staying in
- Television: “The Runarounds,” Prime Video’s teenage soap opera centered on a rock band of the same name, is the latest to straddle the line between fiction and fact.
- Books: There’s a book for every attention span and every interest out there. Here are 10 to add to your September reading list.
- Recipes: Here’s a recipe for Café Cecilia’s mussels toast.
- ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and jigsaw games.
A question for you: What fall TV shows are you most excited for?
Last month, the Times’ TV writers wrote about 16 TV shows to watch this fall. Are your favorites on the list?
Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.
And finally ... your photo of the day
Today’s great photo is from contributor Gabriela Hasbun in Richmond, Calif., where women welders and other tradeswomen are leading an effort to fix up a World War II-era ship.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
James Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew J. Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.
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