A routine blood donation screening found San Diego County’s first locally acquired Chagas infection in an asymptomatic donor, health officials said.
The case is notable because local kissing bug species usually live in rodent nests rather than homes, making camping and other outdoor exposure potential risk factors.
Since making Chagas locally reportable in 2024, the county has received 22 reports and confirmed four cases; this is the first tied to local transmission.
About 30% to 40% of infected people can later develop serious heart or gastrointestinal complications, prompting officials to urge screening for people who lived in endemic Latin American areas, especially pregnant women.