Triatom bugs: description, classification and interesting facts

Triathoma bed bugs, or, as they are also called, kissing, are a new threat to society. Little is yet known about it, however, these creatures represent a rather big danger to health. Every year, due to them, up to 45 thousand people die!

The most frightening thing is that despite a lot of diverse scientific articles and news in magazines and the Internet, there are very few still about triathom bugs. And, most likely, the statistics given in 45 thousand dead annually is clearly understated, since most of the infected do not even realize that they carry a deadly disease.

Description and classification

The science knows 130 different species of these insects, and quite a few of them are carriers of the dangerous Chagas disease. Kissing bedbug belongs to the group of Gestochkrylye, the family of predators. His body, stretched like a stick, is black in color and can reach 3 cm in length. The head has a conical appearance, and the presence of wings allows the insect to easily overcome obstacles. In comparison with the domestic common bug, his limbs and oral apparatus are longer, but he drinks fewer times the blood.

Triathoma bugs are from South America, but these days they are rapidly reaching the northern regions. They live mainly in low-income areas, among the population, huddling in reed huts and adobe buildings. Research by Vermont scientists showed that not only migration but also global warming is to blame for the spread of killer bugs to the north of the continent.

What kind of threat does the triathom bug carry?

Trypanosome kruzi are parasites that develop in the digestive tract in these insects. Thanks to them, the last ones got their name - triatholic ones. It is these parasites that live in the stomach of bedbugs, and are carriers of Chagas disease (Chagas). Having bitten a person, straight to the wound or next to it, the triathom bug immediately defecates, where the parasites get into the blood and begin to reproduce directly in the human body. Because of the bite of the bug, infection is impossible. It occurs precisely from stool.

The bug begins to hunt with nightfall, he crawls out of his hiding place and makes his way to the sleeping man. It bites basically in the area of the lips and eyes, where the skin is warmest. Through a dream a person does not feel a bite, a bug can eat from 15 to 20 minutes and immediately defecate. A man, combing a wound, brings the feces of the parasite into the body, and there the process is already started.

Chagas disease

Triathoma bugs are the most dangerous representatives of the species that carry this serious disease. Bacteria that enter the human body begin their development and affect the gastrointestinal tract, heart, musculoskeletal system.

The disease can occur in two types: acute form, lasting 1-2 months after infection, and chronic, which develops over a period of 5-20 years.

Symptoms of the disease in acute stage:

• Swelling in the bite area (skin becomes dark red).
• Enlargement of lymph nodes.
• The body temperature rises.
• Headache.
• Nausea, vomiting.
• Disorder of the digestive tract.
• Blanching of the skin.

In some cases, such symptoms may not be present at all or they may manifest themselves in part.

When chronic form occurs:

• Muscle pain.
• Appearance of shortness of breath.
• Pain in abdomen and thoracic region.
• Significant loss of appetite.
• Constant fatigue.
• Blueing of limbs of hands and feet, as well as lips.
• Frequent fainting, loss of orientation and other mental disorders.

To date, there is no specific vaccine for the disease spread by triathom bugs in the world. Treatment is carried out using antiparasitic drugs. But the sooner therapy begins, the more chances for a 100% recovery of the patient.

Treatment and precautions

Noticing a bite, the first thing to do is to wash the affected area with clean water using soap and never scratch it. Then it is necessary to pass the appropriate blood tests to identify parasites that cause Chagas disease. In case of luck and negative results it will only be necessary to calm the itch and swelling, using a special ointment, ice and soda.

In the case where the results of the analysis are positive, such drugs as Nifurtimox or Benzidazole are used, which can fight the infection that triathom bugs carry. Their medical value is large enough, because at the earliest stage of the disease there is a chance of cure.

Preventive measures

It is not easy to completely protect yourself from these insects. They can enter the dwelling together with a pet. Nevertheless, some of the tips will reduce the risk of encountering a triathom bug:

• Do not clutter the house, let alone the bedroom, piles of clothes and papers, to reduce places where triathom bugs can hide.
• Install mosquito nets wherever possible: on windows, doors, loopholes for cats and dogs.
• Keep chimneys closed.
• Turn off the external light as needed and, if possible, replace the cold incandescent lamps (white ones) with yellow ones - they attract insects less.
• Do not allow cracks in the foundation and other parts of the building.
• To spend as much as possible cleaning in the room, special attention should be paid to cracks, dark places, bedding, carpet of pets.
• Use special sticky traps.

Interesting to know

The triathom bugs are still far from being studied. The biology of bedbugs and Chagas disease have become one of the most important issues discussed at the annual meeting of members of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, held in 2014 in New Orleans. Scientists stated that it may be possible to defeat the deadly disease of Chagas. The process complicates the problem of revealing it in the early stages, since during this period the symptomatology, as a rule, is absent. This is what causes the problems with the treatment.

But triathom bugs are not the only carriers of a terrible disease. It can be transmitted through bitten by these insects pets. Infection can enter the body if a person ate an infected food that has not been heat treated. Among other things, the disease can be congenital, and transmitted from an infected mother to an unborn baby.