Machine learning identifies bugs that spread Chagas disease

New research from the University of Kansas shows machine learning is capable of identifying insects that spread the incurable disease called Chagas with high precision, based on ordinary digital photos. The idea is to give public health officials where Chagas is prevalent a new tool to stem the spread of the disease and eventually to offer identification services directly to the general public. Chagas is particularly nasty because most people who have it don't know they've been infected. But according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some 20 percent to 30 percent of the 8 million people with Chagas worldwide are struck at some later point with heart rhythm abnormalities that can bring on sudden death; dilated hearts that don't pump blood efficiently; or a dilated esophagus or colon. The disease is caused most often when triatomine bugs -- more commonly known as "kissing bugs" -- bite people and transmit the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi into their bloodstreams.