Guangzhou offers rewards for ‘kissing bug’ seekers

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Disease control and prevention center in southern China’s Guangzhou City has issued a message on social media, calling on the public to report sightings of South American “kissing bugs” and offering eight yuan (about 1.2 US dollars) and free health consultation if the resident successfully brings in one.

Despite its scientific name Triatominae, the oval-shaped insect got its name from a nasty habit of biting sleepers, mostly on the face and lip area. In the American tropics, its bite can be a kiss of death, often delivering a dose of potentially lethal Chagas disease via a parasite that can enter the human blood when the bug’s feces contaminate the wound.

Guangzhou Daily Photo

Being referred to locally as “the king of fleas,” people in several urban areas of Guangzhou have been reported being bitten by insects similar to the kissing bugs. In 2016, there was a confirmed report of kissing bug bite in the Shunde district of the city of Foshan, nearly 45 kilometers from Guangzhou.

There is no vaccine for the Chagas disease, which can be fatal if left untreated. What makes the disease more horrible is that it can lie dormant in a human host for up to 20 to 30 years. Initial symptoms show fever, swollen faces, and anemia, but eventually, the infection can affect the nervous system, digestive system and heart function, even cause sudden death.

Guangzhou Daily Photo

Kissing bugs are reported more likely to be under porches, in piles of wood and inside outdoor dog houses or chicken coops. The disease prevention center advised anyone catching the bugs to put them into water bottles or other containers with lids, record when and where they find them and contact the health officials in charge of each district.

The center said through the capturing reward. They hope to get a distribution map of kissing bugs in China and take appropriate measures to minimize the harm.

Screenshot Photo showing netizens' comments

Reported by Guangzhou Daily on Thursday, the vampire bugs have aroused national attention, and some netizens even showed their concerns by commenting: Once a reward mechanism is set up, will any daredevil raise the bugs?

In Latin America, the Chagas disease has spread to North America, Europe, Oceania, and Asia. More than 6 million people are estimated to be infected globally, according to the World Health Organization.