"The CDC says that most of the Chagas cases in the US are from people who have traveled to Latin America, and were infected there. But Garcia told HealthDay News her research showed that the parasite has arrived in the US, and the government agency has admitted that triatomine bugs can be found across the lower half of the country."
This insect is from the tropics and is not likely to be found in the average home anywhere in the US. In Latin America it often lives in the palm leaf or cane ceilings of substandard housing (shacks). So if you don't get it from being born to a woman who has it, or from a blood transfusion (highly unlikely), and you haven't stayed in substandard housing while traveling in Latin America, your risk in the US is very low, sensationalist reporting not withstanding.
And it's a parasite, not a virus.
