CHARLOTTE, NC - It's not the goodnight kiss you want to get. Health officials are warning everyone about the parasite that will attack your face and cause some serious health problems.
"There can be cardiac problems," said Patrick Helms, a manager at Mosquito Authority. "There can be intestinal problems.
"If you get bitten by one of these things, it can be deadly?" asked WCNC's Xavier Walton.
"Yes," said Helms. "It can be deadly."
Airing on the side of caution, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a kissing bug warning for several states including North Carolina.
"They're called the kissing bug because they like to feed on the faces of sleeping people," said Helms.
Patrick Helms has worked in pest control for more than a decade. He's heard the buzz about the kissing bug.
"Because it looks big mean and nasty and they were like, what is this?" said Helms. "They had just read this article about kissing bugs, and it was pretty easy to identify from a picture."
There are several symptoms of the kissing bug disease. Some include swelling or redness where the bite occurred, rash, fever, head and body aches, fatigue, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.
"You maybe can't find the bug but have the bite, and you're starting to see some of these symptoms, you need to go to your doctor," said Helms.