These bugs come out at nighttime, and attacking victims, they silently kill or leave them with a lifelong infection

As a young child Emiliana Rodríguez recalls watching friends play a nighttime game of soccer, where one of the players suddenly dropped dead on the field. Not knowing what had happened, the Bolivian-born Rodríguez grew fearful of the night, afraid of the silent killer called Chagas, the “monster” she was told only comes out at night.

Chagas is a different kind of monster, a “silent and silenced disease,” transmitted by nocturnal bugs that infect up to 8 million people each year, and Rodríguez’ friend was one of 12,000 people killed each year.