Daily Weird News Report
A kissing bug native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico has been identified in a Lisbon hotel room, raising questions about how the insect crossed the Atlantic.
The discovery happened when an American couple staying at a luxury hotel in Lisbon found the blood-feeding insect on their headboard. They preserved it in a tissue after noticing fresh blood, then brought the dead specimen home in a jewelry box and contacted Jennifer K. Peterson, a medical entomologist at the University of Delaware.
Peterson and her colleagues identified the insect as an adult female Hospesneotomae protracta. Their findings, published in Parasites and Vectors, describe the specimen as apparently the first documented live kissing bug found in Europe and the first recorded case for Portugal.
The insect’s route remains unknown. Researchers considered possibilities including an accidental journey in cargo, agricultural goods or a traveler’s luggage. The bug had traveled roughly 5,000 miles, or 8,000 kilometers, beyond its normal range before being discovered.
Kissing bugs are medically significant because more than half are reported to carry Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite responsible for Chagas disease. Transmission occurs through the insect’s feces, not through its bite. One member of the couple noticed a dark streak on an arm and finger, prompting concern that the insect might have fed on them while they slept.
Testing conducted six weeks later found no T. cruzi antibodies in the couple, indicating they had not been infected. Researchers also determined that this particular insect was not carrying the parasite.
Peterson turned the unusual case into a research project for students in her Medical Entomology class. They examined the insect’s biology, possible travel routes and other examples of insects transported by international trade or human travel before contributing to the published paper.
The researchers said the incident demonstrates that kissing bugs can survive long-distance transport. They also warned that an introduced insect capable of carrying a pathogen could pose medical concerns if it established a population and began reproducing in a new region.
