AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report Tuesday raising awareness about the deadly “kissing bug” disease, also known as Chagas. One of the report's authors, a professor of entomology in Texas, explained why researchers are ringing the alarm on the disease now.

Gabriel Hamer, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Research entomologist in the Department of Entomology at the Bryan-College Station campus, said Chagas disease is considered a neglected tropical disease, which may be why it's lesser known by the general population.

"It's kind of assumed that it occurs elsewhere in Central and South America and is less of a concern here in the U.S.," Hamer said. "But we recently did publish in the journal 'Emerging Infectious Diseases' a perspective article that is

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