Scientists identify new hosts for Chagas disease vectors

Solitary weasel-like animals called tayra might look pretty harmless, but some may actually be incubators for a parasite that causes Chagas disease, a chronic, debilitating condition that is spread by insects called kissing bugs and affects more than 8 million people worldwide. In a study published today in the journal PeerJ, researchers from the University of California, Riverside have identified several new hosts for parasite-spreading kissing bug species, including tayras, new world monkeys, sloths, porcupines, and coatis—which are the South American cousins of racoons.