in your eye!
________________________________ From: Lyndon Tiu <[email protected]> To: Aimee Beveridge <[email protected]> Cc: texas cavers tc <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, December 6, 2012 4:05 PM Subject: Re: [Texascavers] Results of testing for Chagas in Kissing bugs in Texas Shit! On Thu, Dec 6, 2012 at 4:03 PM, Aimee Beveridge <[email protected]> wrote: I am sure this was pointed out earlier but being bitten isn't the problem. Its oral or open wound contact with the infected feces. > > > > >From: rafal kedzierski <[email protected]> >To: [email protected]; texas cavers tc ><[email protected]> >Sent: Thursday, December 6, 2012 2:29 PM >Subject: RE: [Texascavers] Results of testing for Chagas in Kissing bugs in >Texas > > >Just throwing gas on the fire of complexity of life, I just want to point out >that Trypanosoma cruzi or causitive factor in Chagas disease is not only >trypanosome in the environment. Most of them are not directly harmful to H. >sapiens. Therefore, before anyone jumps to any conclusion, how specific is the >PCR used by Baylor College of Medicine for Trypanosoma cruzi? Where PCR >primers used for detection tested against other related protozoa? Have the >primers withstood the test of clinical practice? > >Rafal Kedzierski >DFW caver > > >From: [email protected] >To: [email protected] >Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2012 14:18:40 -0600 >Subject: [Texascavers] Results of testing for Chagas in Kissing bugs in Texas > > >Folks, > >Back in June, I collected four kissing bugs from the Deep and Punkin preserve >in Edwards County, Texas. This was in support of some research being >conducted by the National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of >Medicine. Two of the bugs were captured in the cabin and two were captured >around the porch areas. Here is the email recently sent to me by Kristy >Orsburn Murray a researcher at Baylor. > >We finally were able to develop and establish the PCR for testing the insects >for Chagas. We ran the PCRs yesterday. I wanted to let you know that 3 of >the 4 kissing bugs were positive, including the blood fed triatomine. It was >still alive when we received it, and it had defecated in the Ziploc baggie. We >took the feces separate from the insect and also ran PCR, and the feces was >positive. This was the insect that said it was found under a rug in one of >the cabins. We are running a blood meal analysis on it to see if we can >identify the source of the blood meal. If human, do you know who was in that >cabin at the time of the collection? Perhaps we should test those of you who >might be exposed to these insects. With such a high percentage positive, the >risk for transmission of Chagas could be high. >Let me know if you have any questions. We are happy to help. >Best wishes >Kristy > >I suspect that the results from the bugs collected at the Deep Cabin are not >unique to south Texas and that many of these bugs are positive. I have five >additional bugs from Bexar County that will be submitted for testing. Chagas >is not a nice disease and I suspect that a number of cavers who have camped >out in the hill country over the years have been exposed. Below are some links >on Chagas information. > >It is a personal decision on whether you should get tested and where and how >you sleep. I’m sure this will create some lively discussions. > >Geary Schindel > > >http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Chagas-disease-carrier-may-be-threat-in-Texas-3650719.php > (From San Antonio Express News) > >http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chagas_disease (From Wikipedia) > >http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/chagas/ (From Centers for Disease >Control) > >http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/chagas-disease/DS00956 (From Mayo >Clinic) > >http://www.who.int/topics/chagas_disease/en/ (From World Health >Organization) > > > > -- Lyndon Tiu
