Abstract
Background Avian mite dermatitis is a skin disease caused in mammals by the incidental
bites of blood-sucking mites which customarily parasitize wild and domestic birds. It
manifests in the form of pruritic, erythematous or urticarial papules, with a central sting
mark, in skin regions normally covered by clothing. The species mainly implicated in
human bite cases are Dermanyssus gallinae, Ornithonyssus sylviarum and, less frequently,
Ornithonyssus bursa. The latter is mainly a tropical and subtropical mite and its –
presumably transitory – presence has been recorded only once in Europe, in migratory
birds.
Case report We report a case of avian mite dermatitis in a 70-year-old man, an owner of
chickens, who lived in Sicily, an island in southern Italy. He presented with an itching,
erythematous, papular eruption. Numerous mites were seen racing across his skin. The
precise identification of O. bursa was based on the morphology of its plates and
chelicerae, and on the arrangement of its setae.
Conclusions Not only does this paper report the first European case of human infestation
with O. bursa, but it provides evidence that this alien species has settled and spread in the
Old Continent. It may have been flown in from a small focus reported in Danish migratory
birds in the 1980s, or may have been accidentally introduced into Italy through the
importation of infested poultry from South America. Such occurrences may have
unpredictable epidemiological and ecological consequences. More comprehensive
veterinary inspection of imported birds is desirable.
Lingua originale | English |
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pagine (da-a) | - |
Numero di pagine | 5 |
Rivista | International Journal of Dermatology |
Volume | 53 |
Stato di pubblicazione | Published - 2014 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Dermatology
- Medicine(all)