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Division of Infectious Diseases & Global Medicine Department of Medicine in the College of Medicine
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New study suggests Florida Chagas disease transmission (featuring Dr. Norman Beatty)

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Highlights:

  • Chagas disease transmission in the United States is largely unknown and remains underreported.
  • Researchers from the University of Florida Emerging Pathogens Institute and Texas A&M University collaborated on a 10-year study to investigate the ecology and risk of Chagas disease transmission in Florida.
  • Published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, the study is the first to focus on the ecology of kissing bugs and their potential to spread the Chagas-causing parasite.
  • The study demonstrates that kissing bugs readily invade human dwellings to feed on humans and companion animals.
  • Researchers emphasize preventive measures, like managing wood piles near homes and increasing diagnostic screening for Chagas among clinicians.
This picture features Dr. Norman Beatty, University of Florida Infectious Diseases faculty, who is outside in the field to study Chagas disease by catching kissing bug specimens. He is standing on a wood pile. He has a shaved head, white skin, and brown eyes, with some facial hair. He is wearing a gray field shirt with pockets, black milwaukee gloves, and holding a talenti jar with a brown lid, which contains a kissing bug. He is staring intensely at the jar.

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New study suggests Florida Chagas disease transmission