The ‘Silent Killer’

So apparently there is a bug coming out of the southern region of the U.S. — the highest density being in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona — that poses a serious threat to all inhabitants of the North America. The bug is referred to as ‘The Kissing Bug’, now found in 28 states, and is measured to be just slightly larger than the size of a penny.

Kissing bugs feed on diverse wild and domestic animals including wild rodents, other wild mammals, domestic dogs, and humans. These bugs carry something known as the Chagas Disease.

Essentially, this bug, which looks a lot like a stink bug, bites you, then defecates near the open wound and transfers a parasite through its feces to you through the wound. This causes massive swelling and obviously the transfer of the Chagas Disease. This disease is fatal and therefore definitely cause for concern.

I don’t know about you but the fact that I just stumbled upon this horrid bug while scrolling on twitter is concerning. By the time I had heard of the bug it had already killed over 200 dogs and established itself in 28 states.

This is true of a lot of environmental issues. There is something to be said about this knowledge gap and communication barrier between the general public and important environmental events and issues.

This bug, and my discovery of it on twitter, is just my personal experience and encounter with this communication gap. It was quite a shock that something that poses such a threat to me is not considered important enough to populate the worldwide, or nationwide, news system. And because of that, people- like myself- are ignorant and unprepared. They’re vulnerable. And that is unacceptable.