Chagas disease

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'Kissing Bug' Disease Prompts Growing Concern in US

300K likely have Chagas disease, little-known in the US

(Newser) - Some 8 million people have Chagas disease, a life-threatening illness passed to humans by "kissing bugs," or triatomines, living in Latin America. In the US, few people know about the disease—but the CDC figures that some 300,000 people may be infected here. In countries like Bolivia,...

Mummy Mystery Solved: It Was Murder

Incan woman died from blunt force trauma 500 years ago

(Newser) - She's been known to German archaeologists for more than a century, but they only now know where a mysterious mummy came from—and how she died. The study in PLoS One explains that the mummified woman was brought to Bavaria in the 1900s. It's possible she was acquired...

Disease You've Never Heard Of Is Draining Economy
Disease You've Likely Never Heard of Costs US Millions
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Feb 16, 2013 1:00 PM CST

Disease You've Likely Never Heard of Costs US Millions

Little-known Chagas disease sucks $900M a year

(Newser) - A little-known parasitic disease from Latin America costs the US economy $900 million a year, the New York Times reports, even though you've probably never heard of Chagas disease . To put the figure in perspective, the much more publicized Lyme disease costs the US about $2.5 billion, a...

Possible Malaria Weapon: Bug-Killing Paint

It could be a breakthrough against insect-borne diseases

(Newser) - A new paint that contains insecticide lasts longer than traditional bug-killing agents and is more effective in many circumstances, researchers say, making it a hopeful option for curbing insect-borne illnesses. It's already helped cut infestations of bugs like the vinchuca, which carries the often-fatal Chagas disease, in homes in...

Chagas Disease the 'New AIDS of the Americas'

300K in US have potentially fatal tropical disease

(Newser) - An insect-borne disease many people have never heard of is quickly becoming the "new AIDS of the Americas," researchers warn. Chagas disease, caused by parasites carried by blood-sucking insects, infects up to 8 million people in the Americas. Many carriers never show symptoms but close to a quarter...

5 Stories