Tx may be at risk for disease

Chagas disease, a tropical disease that can guide to heart and digestive disorders, may be more widespread in Texas than before thought, researchers say.

Epidemiological maps prepared by researchers from the University of Texas at Austin suggest south Texas, in exacting, is an area of high risk for infection by the parasitic disease.

Endemic to rural areas of Latin America, Chagas disease is frequently transmitted by triatomine bugs, also known as "kissing bugs."

"We've been studying this for four years now, and this year the number of disease-causing insects is quite amazing," biology Professor Sahotra Sarkar said in a UT release Thursday.

Researchers have been collecting and classifying insects from the field and analyzing them to decide how many of the bugs carry the protozoa Trypanosoma, which causes the disease.

The epidemiological maps are prepared from data counting the number and location of carrier insects, recorded human Chagas infections and hospitable habitats for the insects.

They recommend eleven counties in south Texas are at high risk for Chagas infection, and Sarkar says there may already be hundreds of undiagnosed cases of the disease.