Dangerous parasitic disease caused by 'kissing bugs' has sickened 300,000 Americans - and doctors warn it is spreading across the U.S.

Author: Mary Kekatos

A parasitic illness that can cause strokes and heart failure is spreading across the US, doctors have warned.

Chagas disease is transmitted by an insect known as the 'kissing bug' because it tends to bite people's faces, near their mouths.

Many never shown signs that they've been infected with the disease, which is why it has earned the nickname of the 'silent killer'.

The disease has mostly been limited to Central and South America, but it has entered the States, sickening an estimated 300,000 Americans.

Chagas disease is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which lives in the gut of bug that transmits the disease, the triatomine insect, which is also known as the 'kissing bug'.

However, the disease is not spread through the bug's bite, rather through its feces. 
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