U.S. Border Patrol Dogs infected with Chagas Disease

More than 100 working dogs employed by the federal government across the United States have been infected with the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, the cause of Chagas disease, which may lead to heart problems, according to a new study presented today at the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) Annual Meeting. Chagas disease is a tropical infection spread by a blood-sucking triatomine or “kissing bug” that may pose a growing threat in the United States.

Once known only in Mexico, Central America and South America, Chagas is now making tentative incursions into the United States, infecting canines and . . .