1,720,973 research outputs found
PHOTODERMATITIS DUE TO NIFEDIPINE - REPORT OF 2 CASES
No full textWe describe 2 cases of severe photosensitivity dermatitis following the use of nifedipine for arterial hypertension. In both cases casual rechallenge with nifedipine confirmed that this drug was the causative agent
A new case of acromegaloid facial appearance (AFA) syndrome with an expanded phenotype
No full textA patient presenting with the findings of Acromegaloid Facial Appearance (APA) syndrome is reported. This case also shows pericardial effusion and skin lesions that both enlarge the spectrum of the phenotype and lump AFA syndrome with another proposed distinct condition [Irvine et al., (1996) J med Genet 33:972-974]. Clin Dysmorphol 9: 221-222 (C) 2000 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Pseudoscabies caused by Dermanyssus gallinae in Italian city-dwellers: a new setting for an old dermatitis
Full text linkDermanyssus gallinae (De Geer 1778; the red poultry mite or chicken mite; fig. 1) is the most common mite associated with feral pigeons (Columba livia).1,2 It is a nocturnal blood-sucking ectoparasite and stays on the bird to feed only. During the daytime, it is usually foundin close proximity to the nest (1). In the absence of its usual host, the red mite can also infest mammals and cause a non-specific dermatitis associated with intense itching in humans. Infestations are often misdiagnosed and inevitably lead to failures in treatment.
Figure 1.
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D. gallinae, female: an egg is visible within the abdomen.
This report outlines the importance of the red mite associated disease in humans through the report of seven episodes of pseudoscabies caused by D. gallinae in Italian cities, from 2001 to 2007. All cases shared common features. Particularly, all the patients lived and/or worked in urban environments but had no contact with animals or poultry farms.
In five of the cases, people were infested in their homes and in the remaining two cases at work. Abandoned pigeon nests were always found in close proximity to the rooms infested by the mites.
Medical consultations failed to solve the human dermatitis, which returned when symptomatic treatment with antihistamines and corticosteroids stopped.
Indeed, diagnoses were consistently generic, and even when skin lesions were attributed to acariasis, the possibility of an animal to human cross-infection was not considered.
Our experience confirms that most dermatologists have difficulty identifying ectoparasitoses, such as those that arise within new or atypical conditions. This is probably the main reason why similar cases of gamasidosis are more difficult to recognize than classical ones occurring in rural areas.
The cases reported here give new insights into the sanitary role of D. gallinae infestation for humans living in urban areas. They also underline the need for dermatologists to be more aware of this threat and more familiar with its presentation and management.
The meaning of these mites in public health also stems from their role as potential allergens and reservoirs of pathogens.1,3–5
Red mite is able to survive for long periods without a blood meal. This can lead to recurrent episodes of pruritic dermatitis (as has been observed in occasionaly-used buildings i.e. holiday homes). Therefore, the long-lasting absence of the human host does not guarantee the elimination of the mite from the environment, and a period of more than 9 months is necessary.6
In conclusion, the differential diagnosis of non-specific dermatitis in people living in urban settings should always include pseudoscabies caused by D. gallinae, particularly when the lesions develop in spring and the patients live and/or work on the upper floors of buildings. When the clinical presentation is non-specific and the arthropod cannot be found in cutaneous lesions, the environmental anamnesis could be a useful tool to diagnose successfully pseudoscabies.
Dermatologists should provide the patients with complete instructions on how to inspect the living quarters and identify the mite (i.e. shape, colour, size of the mite; nocturnal feeding habits; typical hiding places), if suspicious elements emerge.
The successful identification of the mite is absolutely fundamental to manage the clinical episodes correctly: specimens should be collected from the environment and sent to the laboratory of entomology for further identification. The involvement of a veterinary parasitologist can also be useful for a rapid diagnosis.
Nowadays, the increase of synanthropic animals carries a high risk of zoonotic diseases and requires the collaboration of physicians and veterinarians as well as public health care officials
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Infestazione da Dermanyssus gallinae nell'uomo: un problema di igiene urbana?
No full textGli Autori riportano 6
episodi di dermatite da
Dermanyssus gallinae
(De Geer, 1778)
nell’uomo. Tutti i casi
si sono verificati in
ambiente cittadino ed
hanno interessato
persone che non
avevano alcun contatto
con il pollame,
ritenuto il principale
serbatoio dell’acaro. In
prossimità degli
ambienti infestati era
sempre possibile
riscontrare la presenza
consistente di colombi
di città o di loro nidi
abbandonati.
L’aumento
incontrollato delle
popolazioni di colombi
è un problema oramai
riconosciuto
universalmente ed è
diventato, in alcune
città, una vera e
propria emergenza. È
noto che Dermanyssus
gallinae circola tra
questi animali con
notevole frequenza,
tanto da essere
considerato il più
diffuso ectoparassita
ematofago della specie.
La stretta promiscuità
di questi uccelli con
l’uomo, oramai
costante in ambiente
urbano, amplifica le
occasioni di contatto
tra Dermanyssus
gallinae e persone ed
induce a considerare
questa parassitosi un
problema emergente di
sanità pubblica.
L’acaro, infatti, in
mancanza di uccelli su cui compiere il pasto
di sangue, può
compiere migrazioni
alla ricerca di un
ospite su cui
alimentarsi, invadere
le abitazioni e infestare
l’uomo.
Il mancato sospetto e/o
riconoscimento della
patologia
dermatologica,
peraltro caratterizzata
da lesioni aspecifiche,
al di fuori dei contesti
rurali, in pazienti
apparentemente
lontani da animali
portatori e la difficoltà
di individuare
precocemente il
parassita
nell’ambiente, per la
peculiarità del suo
ciclo biologico, sono i
principali fattori che
contribuiscono alla
sottostima della
infestazione in aree
metropolitane
First report of Coxiella burnetii and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in poultry red mites, Dermanyssus gallinae (Mesostigmata, Acari), related to urban outbreaks of dermatitis in Italy
Full text linkThe poultry red mite (PRM), Dermanyssus gallinae, is a nonburrowing haematophagous nest-dwelling ectoparasite of birds; occasionally it bites humans, inducing dermatitis. The possibility that this parasite may also be involved in transmission of pathogens is an additional concern. We investigated the presence of zoonotic agents in PRMs from bird nests and pets, and related them to urban outbreaks of dermatitis. A total of 98 PRMs from 12 outbreaks of PRM dermatitis that occurred in Italian cities from 2001 to 2017 were molecularly investigated for detection of Coxiella spp. (16S rRNA), Chlamydophila spp. (16S rRNA), Rickettsia spp. (17 kDa protein-encoding gene), Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (groEL gene) and Bartonella spp. (16S–23S rRNA intergenic spacer). Of the 12 tested mite pools, one was positive for Coxiella burnetii (100% identity) and two for B. burgdorferi sensu lato (99% with Borrelia afzelii). For the first time, the presence of B. burgdorferi sensu lato and C. burnetii is reported in PRMs from urban areas. Birds, mainly pigeons, can harbour both pathogens. Therefore, birds and their nest-dwelling PRMs may play a role in the epidemiology of these infections
An urban outbreak of red mite dermatitis in Italy
Full text linkIn this paper an urban outbreak dermatitis is reported.
Case reports of red mite dermatitis are rare, because it is difficult to detect and accurately identify red mites, and thus to relate symptoms to those parasites. There Is little mention of red mite dermatitis in medical textbooks. Physicians and dermatologists are keenly aware of dermatoses associated with the burrowing mites Sarcoptes scabiei. If dermatitis is caused by ectoparasites of zoonotic interest, it is often misdiagnosed. Indeed, it is common to see skin damage, but not to find arthropods on patients. Thus, the occurrence of red mite represents the principal ectoparasite acquired by humans in an hurban environment from feral pigeons, together with the pigeon tick, Argas reflex. Today, feral pigeons are among the most successful avian settlers in our cities, where they have few enemies and food is always abundant
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