Though public concern has been raised, following recent articles released buy the media concerning “blood-sucking assassin bugs,” medical experts said not to fret too fearfully about such insects.
Dr. Truong Xuan Lam from the Institute for Ecology and Biological Resources, stressed that no cases have been reported of ailments caused by bites received via the country’s blood-sucking assassin bugs.
Doctors also confirmed no bitten patients have required hospitalization so far, although some foreign countries reported victims of similar bugs that suffered from fatigue and weakened immune systems.
The bloodsucking insect, commonly referred to as the assassin bug, originates from Latin America.
This species of bug was discovered in Vietnam for the first time at the National Park in Tam Dao, northwest of Hanoi, in 2004. Some 30 assassin bug specimens have been collected in the northern provinces of Mai Chau and Hoa Binh, as well as from districts Cau Giay, Gia Lam, Ba Vi and Ha Dong in Hanoi.
Scientists at the Institute for Ecology and Biological Resources in Hanoi are studying two cases of Chagas disease, a debilitating infection allegedly spread by an insect, possibly the ‘assassin bug.’
A woman in the central City of Da Nang and two family members suffered bites from insects for one or two months. Eventually she felt tired and sleepy, and her face swelled. The woman, searching for the culprit, captured several of them and sent them to the Institute for Ecology and Biological Resources.
At the same time, a man in Hanoi reported to suffer similar symptoms, the result of bites received of a strange kind of bug.
Dr. Lam said the insect has a flat body, brown color and short wings. It lives from 4-6 months and each individual can lay 500-1000 eggs.
Assassin bugs are occasionally found in bathtubs, sinks, or drains and, if handled carelessly, can inflict a very painful bite, causing a severe reaction in some persons. Some species only come out at night within hot locations plagued by diminished hygiene.
Dr. lam warned people not to be frightened by the strange insect, yet they should clean their houses, checking spaces under tables and beds to find the bug.
