A disease endemic in Latin America, chagas, is most commonly transmitted through the bites of infected Triatominae (or "kissing bugs") often found in cracks in the walls and roofs of mud and straw housing in rural areas and urban slums.
The disease can be asymptomatic for many years, but if left untreated it may progress and fatally damage the nervous system and internal organs. Chagas is not as well-known as diseases such as malaria or cholera, but it affects between six and seven million people and kills up to 12,500 each year.