VCU GH2DP Yoro trip: kissing bugs and a new way to obtain clean water

Here is a brief post from Olanchito, Honduras. I want to share a few more pictures and highlight a few more of the experiences we had on our outreach trip.

Chagas disease is a major issue for the communities we serve in Honduras; this is an infection carried in the gastrointestinal tracts of "kissing bugs." These bugs feed on humans and defecate; the feces is irritating and the Chagas parasite is then inoculated into that person's blood when they scratch. Chronic infection causes significant morbidity and mortality, leading to heart failure and arrhythmias, amongst other complications. Our colleagues from Brock University and the National Autonomous University of Honduras identified these "kissing bugs" for our group-see the picture below.

The picture below is with our colleagues from Brock and the National Autonomous University of Honduras.

The picture below is of a novel rain catchment device that was put into place by VCU Engineers Without Borders students Lucas Potter and Kristina Kelly. They also performed formal interviews to determine the barriers to adopting this technology on the communities we serve. 

More to come, stay tuned!