In the dead of night, while you are sound asleep, it draws ever closer. It does not wake you. Indeed, you do not even stir as you receive its harmful “kiss.”

THIS nocturnal intruder is the barber beetle—also called the kissing bug—which thrives in South America. The lingering “kiss” of this insect can last up to 15 minutes as the insect slowly draws your blood. In itself, the “kiss” will not harm you. But the feces left on your skin may contain a microorganism called Trypanosoma cruzi, or T. cruzi for short. If this parasite enters your body through the eyes, the mouth, or an open cut, it can cause American trypanosomiasis, better known as Chagas’ disease.

It is estimated that up to 18 million people are infected with Chagas’ disease, and some 50,000 die from it each year. Not all victims are directly bitten by the bug. Some, for example, are breast-fed children who contracted the disease through an infected mother. A pregnant woman can even pass on the malady to her unborn child or infect her baby at the time of birth. Other means of transmission include blood transfusion and eating uncooked food that has been contaminated with T. cruzi.b