Preventing Chagas Disease

Español

Key points

  • There are no drugs or vaccines to prevent Chagas disease.
  • The best way to prevent Chagas disease is to prevent or limit contact with the triatomine bug, sometimes called the kissing bug.

Overview

Currently, there are no vaccines or medicines to prevent Chagas disease. The best way to prevent Chagas disease is to avoid contact with triatomine bugs, especially when living in areas where Chagas disease is common.

Prevention steps and strategies

When traveling

Although Chagas disease is not common in the United States, you may come in contact with infected triatomine bugs when traveling to rural areas in Latin America.

When visiting or traveling to areas with a risk of Chagas disease:

  • Stay in well-built places (like air-conditioned or screened hotel rooms or houses). This lowers the risk of contact with infected triatomine bugs, which often live in poorly built dwellings and are active at night.
  • Sleep under bed nets treated with long-lasting insecticide.
  • Wear clothing that covers your skin and apply bug spray on skin that's exposed.
  • Avoid eating salads, raw vegetables, unpeeled fruits, and unpasteurized fruit juices.

At home

There are no insecticides approved specifically for triatomine bugs in the United States. Talk with a pest control expert before using insecticides against triatomine bugs.

Keep in mind

Roach traps don't work on triatomine bugs, but properly treated bed nets and curtains do.

To prevent bug infestations at home

  • Seal cracks and gaps around windows, walls, roofs, and doors.
  • Remove wood, brush, and rock piles near your house.
  • Use screens on doors and windows and repair any holes or tears.
  • Keep yard lights away from your house because lights can attract the bugs.
  • Seal off any entrances to attics or crawl spaces.
  • Have pets sleep indoors, especially at night.
  • Regularly clean your home and pet resting areas and keep an eye out for bugs.

Programs and initiatives

Certain measures have helped reduce the spread of Chagas disease in places like Mexico, Central America, and South America, where the disease is more common.

  • Improving housing quality and using insecticides indoors have significantly cut down the spread of Chagas disease.
  • Testing blood donations for Chagas has been an important way to help stop the disease from spreading via blood transfusions.
  • Finding and treating new cases early, especially in cases from mother to baby, are key in reducing the disease's impact.

In the United States the focus is on preventing the spread through blood transfusions, organ transplants, and from pregnant women to their babies.

Print
Content Source:
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID)