BATON ROUGE - Insects called kissing bugs can carry a parasite that can cause Chagas disease, which experts say is a potential deadly condition that is here to stay in the United States.

The disease is spread when the feces of infected kissing bugs enter a bite or wound; it also results from getting into people's eyes, nose or mouth. Eight million people are believed to have this disease globally, including an estimated 280,000 in the United States.

"As the weather gets warmer, these quote unquote tropical diseases are increasingly heading north," Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Neurosurgeon at Grady Memorial Hospital, said.

The CDC says those who have it may not know it.

"There are now 32 states where we see kissing bugs, and at least 8 states have reported human infections."

Early-stage symptoms can be mild or go unnoticed with fever, fatigue, body aches, headaches, rash, loss of appetite, diarrhea, vomiting and the swelling of an eyelid. The disease, left untreated, can lead to heart issued and digestive products.

Anti-parasitic medications can be effective if taken early.

If you wait too long, the effectiveness of the medications start to wear off because the parasite will eventually move out of the bloodstream and start to infect other organs and tissues in the body."