Found across much of the forested regions of central and northern South America, Tristoma infestans is a large 3.5cm long bug (an insect from the Order Hemiptera) that feeds on vertebrate blood, especially mammals', including that of humans.
Its elongated proboscis is adapted for piercing skin and sucking. It gets its common English name 'kissing bug' and Spanish name 'vinchuca' meaning 'barber bug' from its habit of biting humans in vulnerable areas, especially near the mouth, though it will also probe around the eyes.
Attacks occur at night, when the victim is sleeping and, unsurprisingly, this predilection for nocturnal blood feasts has led to the nickname 'vampire bug'.
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Tristoma infestans (and its similarly sized kissing bug cousin Rhodnius prolixus) is often infected with a protozoan parasite called Trypanosoma cruzi and this can be transmitted to humans when the bug feeds on blood. The parasite is transmitted through the bug's faeces, which the bug sometimes leaves on its quarry while feeding.
Upon waking, the victim may wash or wipe their face and inadvertently spread the parasite-infested faeces into the wound. And this is a big problem because T cruzi causes Chagas disease, whereby the parasite infects the heart and digestive muscles leading to fever, heart conditions and digestive disorders. Untreated, it can lead to heart failure, damage to the nervous system and death.
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Some experts have suggested that the great naturalist Charles Darwin may have contracted Chagas disease while travelling in South American in 1834. He later describes being bitten by a species of “Benchuca” [a variation of the name 'vinchuca' – the barber bug] as an attack. He wrote: “It is most disgusting to feel soft wingless insects, about an inch long, crawling over one's body. Before sucking they are quite thin, but afterwards they become round and bloated with blood, and in this state are easily crushed.”
In later 1834 Darwin fell ill and was incapacitated for a month – symptoms consistent with Chagas disease. Later in life, he suffered from a mysterious long-term illness that exhibited an extensive list of symptoms including heart palpitations, headaches, dizziness, fatigues, skin problems and many more. Whether this can be attributed to his time in South America remains a mystery.
According to the World Health Organisation, eight million people are estimate to be infected with T Cruzi and there are 10,000 deaths a year.
