Watermelon Festival

Newberry Watermelon Festival

Watermelon FestivalAt The National Kissing Bug Alliance, we are actively involved in community events, spreading awareness of Chagas Disease. Attendees at this festival in Central Florida were introduced to Chagas disease and how its presence is spreading in North America. Children of all ages enjoyed spinning the wheel to learn facts like: What does a kissing bug look like? How do people become infected? Who should be tested? When are kissing bugs most active? And are all kissing bugs infected with the parasite?

Watermelon Festival BoothParticipants were given handmade bracelets of beads the colors of the kissing bug or lanyards with a magnifying glass to encourage them to be on the lookout for kissing bugs and to spread awareness to their families and friends.

On several occasions, groups of participants who spent time asking questions at our festival booth shared that they were university students, studying in various medical fields like speech pathology, digestive disease disorders, cardiology, tropical disease, and other areas of study that can be linked to Chagas disease. Their interest and enthusiasm was very encouraging and will hopefully spill over in their areas of study as they reflect and expand the possibilities in medical research.

Reaching out at community events can be a valuable way to educate people from all walks of life. Additionally, our efforts will inspire primary care physicians, emergency room doctors, cardiologists, ENTs, digestive disease doctors, and tropical disease doctors to rally for annual labs to include testing for Chagas disease and further identify those who are unaware of infection. This testing will be invaluable in the collection of reliable data of the presence of this neglected disease in North America.