Calling time on the kissing bugs

They are known as 'kissing bugs' and they spread a disease that rarely makes the headlines but infects up to seven million people worldwide. Chagas disease is a tropical disease transmitted by insects which inflicts a huge burden in some of the poorest Latin American countries. Now a worldwide network of scientists, led by Durham University, will work together to find new drug targets for this neglected disease. They will also target leishmaniasis , a disease affecting the very poor in developing countries, transmitted by sandfly bites with over 700,000 new cases per year. Identifying new drug targets The researchers will use new chemical and genetic technologies to help discover targets that drugs could act upon - one of the most important scientific steps to enable a new drug to be developed. They aim to improve on current drugs, some of which are hard to administer and have severe side effects. The team has been awarded £8 million from Research Councils UK (RCUK) as part of its Global Challenges Research Fund to lead the network.