The Worst Kiss Ever

Have you ever donated blood? If not, there is a questionnaire that you fill out prior to donating, which includes lots of questions about lifestyle, travel, and family history of diseases. Included is the question about having ever had Chagas disease. Seemed rare, exotic and unlikely . . . until I read this book. Holy guacamole. Apparently this disease can be no big deal, not even affecting you at all, or it can be quite deadly and frankly, horrific. Enter the "kissing bug" (Trypanosoma cruzi, so you get why they call it by its easier name), which, on its own isn't a bad guy, but when infected itself by the Chagas parasite, can wreak havoc on, well, us. And here's another fun fact--we have them right here in the United States! All fraidy-cat exclamations aside, this book dives into not only the disease, transmission and effects, but what has been described as "the great epi divide". This gives you something to chew on for a while. It's highly informative but very readable, and believe me, you'll think a lot more about how lucky you are not to be checking that box next time you give blood.