Hundreds of dogs have died from a rare parasitic disease known as Chagas and over 300,000 Americans are currently infected. In Texas alone, roughly 400 dogs have died from the disease, and that is just the number of cases that have been diagnosed or reported.
What is Chagas? Chagas disease is caused by a parasite known as Trypanosoma Cruzi. The parasite is carried by the Triatomine Bug or “Kissing Bug”. The parasite is spread by the feces of the bugs. The Triatomine Bug feeds on blood usually around the eyes and mouth of a person or pet while they are sleeping.
Transmission occurs when fecal material gets rubbed into the bite wound or into a mucous membrane (for example, the eye or mouth), and the parasite enters the body.
Photo credit: University Of Florida
Aside from being bitten, dogs also can contract the disease by eating the bugs, or from ingesting the feces of infected animals (such as raccoons, armadillos, possums).
How will you know if your dog has it? Chagas disease is known as the “silent killer” because people and pets who have it don’t know they have the disease until its later stages, after it attacks the heart muscles and eventually causes heart failure, by which stage it is too late for treatment.
Kiska caught Chagas. Photo source: YouTube
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