Kissing bugs and Chagas disease are silent threats in Florida

The upcoming “kissing bug season” in May alerts Floridians to a major public health concern. While locals may be preoccupied with the mosquito swarms that unfailingly arrive every summer, Chagas disease—a lethal and little-known parasitic infection—is plaguing the panhandle and the northern and central regions of Florida, according to new research from UF’s Emerging Pathogens Institute.