Vector - Kissing Bug

Rhodnius prolixus. 8"x11" Pigment ink on 11"x14" Bristol board.

Please read about Chagas Disease. It sounds like a story out of a science fiction magazine but it's very real. You would not want to get kissed by this because of this. This kissing bug causes sleeping sickness and a host of other systemic problems. It may take up to 20 years to develop symptoms. Some people may not be aware they are carriers or have the disease until it is too late.

This exotic disease is no longer limited to South and Central America. This disease is now in the U.S. due to Poverty and immigration.

AABB-Chagas Map

Sarkar-Chagas map

"Overall, there are believed to be 10 million people living with Chagas infection; most of them are in Central and South America, but there are an estimated 1 million in the United States. Up to one-third of those infected, 3 million, are at risk of Chagas’ worst complications, enlarged heart and heart failure. And wherever blood donations are not tested for the protozoan, the blood supply — as well as organ transplants — are at risk."