Gamasoidosis | |
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Other names | Acariasis, avian mite dermatitis, bird mite dermatitis, fowl mite dermatitis, dermanyssosis [1] |
Dermanyssus gallinae piercing skin with its long chelicerae to reach dermal capillaries (not to scale). | |
Specialty | Dermatology, medical parasitology |
Symptoms | Pruritic erythematous papules, macules, urticaria, itching, skin irritation |
Causes | Avian mite infestation |
Treatment |
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Gamasoidosis, also known as dermanyssosis, is a frequently unrecognized form of dermatitis, following human infestation with avian mites of the genera Dermanyssus or Ornithonyssus . It is characterized by pruritic erythematous papules, macules and urticaria, with itching and irritation resulting from the saliva the mites secrete while feeding. These bites are commonly found around the neck and areas covered by clothing, but can be found elsewhere on the body. The avian mite Dermanyssus gallinae can also infest various body parts, including the ear canal and scalp.
Diagnosis is challenging due to the small size of the mites, requiring microscopic examination by a medical entomologist for species identification. Misdiagnosis is also common due to ignorance and misinformation among medical professionals, scientists and pest controllers. Gamasoidosis is linked to avian mites infesting residential, public and agricultural spaces, with a potential health threat due to the transmission of zoonotic pathogens by D. gallinae. Treatment involves eradicating mites from the environment, with resistance to pesticides posing a challenge. The condition's epidemiology raises concerns about its impact on public health, emphasizing the need for awareness, interdisciplinary collaboration, improved diagnostic tools and a "One Health" approach.
Avian mite bites induce a non-specific dermatitis. [2] The most common symptoms are pruritic erythematous papules, [3] with a size of 1–3 mm, [4] and a central punctum, [5] as well as macules and urticaria. [2] Itching and skin irritation are reactions to the saliva the mites secrete when feeding. [6]
Bites are normally located in groups around the neck and body areas covered by clothes (waist, trunk, upper extremities and abdomen), [4] [7] [8] but can also be found on the legs, [4] finger webs, axillae, the groin, and buttocks. [8] If feeding occurs while a patient is sleeping, bedding may show red spots caused by droppings or crushed mites. [4]
The species Dermanyssus gallinae is capable of infesting the ear canal, with symptoms including itching, internal inflammation and discharge. [9] It can also infest the scalp, with severe itching, particularly at night, as the primary symptom, [10] as well as "the nares, orbits and eyelids, and genitourinary and rectal orifices." [11]
Additional symptoms include pinpricks, secondary infections, scarring and hyperpigmentation. [12]
Gamasoidosis occurs after human contact with avian mites which infest birds, such as canaries, [13] sparrows, starlings, pigeons [14] and poultry [15] and is caused by two genera of mites: Ornithonyssus and Dermanyssus. [16] Avian mite species implicated include the red mite (Dermanyssus gallinae), [17] tropical fowl mite ( Ornithonyssus bursa ) [6] and northern fowl mite ( Ornithonyssus sylviarum ). [17] Dermatitis is also associated with rodents infested with the tropical rat mite ( Ornithonyssus bacoti ), [7] [18] spiny rat mite (Laelaps echidnina) [19] and house-mouse mite ( Liponyssoides sanguineus ), where the condition is known as rodent mite dermatitis. [20] Urban gamasoidosis is associated with window-sills, ventilation and air-conditioning intakes, roofs and eaves, which serve as shelters for nesting birds. [21] Gamasoidosis in farm workers is associated with poultry farms, with a "19% incidence of contact dermatitis reported in a two-year survey of workers on 58 European poultry farms"; [22] D. gallinae exposure is so common that it is considered an "occupational hazard" for these workers. [23]
Diagnosis can be challenging as the small size of avian mites make them "barely visible to the unaided eye". [24] Identification of the species is best carried out by a medical entomologist using a microscope; [17] positive identification of species is critical for recommendation of suitable treatment methods. [4]
Diagnoses of gamasoidosis have a long history, with "cases [...] reported since the 17th century, documented in the leading medical literature since at least the 1920s." [23] Avian and rodent mites have been documented as infesting residential buildings, work spaces, schools and hospitals. [7] [23] Despite this, there is considered to be widespread ignorance and misinformation "regarding human infestation with D. gallinae across healthcare, science and pest control fields", which in turn has led to increasing numbers of infestations and a dangerous propagation of the disease. [12]
Due to it being an uncommon diagnosis, physicians are generally not aware of the condition, [4] meaning gamasoidosis may be unrecognized or misdiagnosed as conditions such as contact dermatitis caused by allergies, scabies caused by Sarcoptes scabiei , infestation by body lice ( Pediculus humanus corporis ) leading to pediculosis, tropical rat mite bites (O. bacoti) , infestation by pigeon ticks (Argas reflexus), chigger mite bites ( Trombiculidae ), bites from Cheyletiella mitesm, or bed bugs ( Cimex lectularius ).[ citation needed ]
Many cases of gamasoidosis go unreported, suggesting that the actual incidence is higher than generally believed. [15] As a result, in cases of unexplained bites in residential areas, the involvement of D. gallinae should always be considered, [25] especially during late spring and early summer when wild birds make their nests. [8]
The life cycle of the mite is another important method of diagnosis. [12] Hematophagic mites generally feed at night, [26] but may also feed during the day if the room is sufficiently dark. [27] Attacks in public and office buildings tend to occur during the daytime. [4] O. bursa is an exception as it generally remains on its hosts and will feed during the day. [28] D. gallinae may be commonly found in the bedroom or where the patient sleeps, as they prefer to stay close to their host for optimal feeding. [29] D. gallinae generally visit their host for up to 1–2 hours, leave after completing their blood meal,[ citation needed ] and typically feed every 2–4 days. [23] They are able to move extremely quickly, [5] and can take less than 1 second to bite; enough time to inject their saliva and to induce rash and itching.[ citation needed ] They locate potential hosts through temperature changes, vibrations, chemical signals and CO2. [23]
It has been hypothesized the D. gallinae is capable of 'learning' [30] "to associate non-host skin with a blood-meal if the host selection process permitted feeding." [23] Combined with a generalist approach to finding hosts and the capability of digesting non-avian blood could potentially explain their documented host expansion to mammals and humans. [23]
There is documented "co-occurrence of gamasoidosis and various immunosuppressive disorders" [23] and physicians should bear in mind that immunocompromised patients, patients that take corticosteroids, and patients with dementia may have a more severe infestation than healthy patients, [12] Despite this, while immunosuppression can "increase susceptibility, it is not necessarily a pre-requisite for infestation". [23]
Dermatoscopy can help to exclude the diagnosis of delusional parasitosis. [31]
Pets such as canaries, [13] cats, [32] dogs, [33] hamsters,[ citation needed ] and gerbils [5] can be infested also. As a result, it has been argued that veterinarians should be aware that non-avian attacks of D. gallinae are possible, and may be underestimated, and that there is a need for increased awareness among practitioners. [33]
Preventing gamasoidosis in residential areas is achieved by avoiding the proliferation of avian mites, by refraining from feeding birds and utilizing nets on building terraces to deter nesting in close proximity to human homes. It is crucial to remove and clean nests during the nesting season before birds can establish them and lay eggs. [34]
Treatment of gamasoidosis can be difficult; avian mites have developed resistance to multiple pesticides and the different species concerned display varied ecologies that necessitate divergent treatment approaches. [12]
For a patient to achieve full recovery, the mites must be eradicated from the person's environment through the removal of nests and appropriate disinfestation of infested areas by a pest control professional. [21] Total eradication can be difficult to achieve as D. gallinae can survive for longer than nine months without a blood meal, [35] [36] and is capable of both digesting, [37] and completing its life cycle on human blood alone. [10] Additionally, populations can expand rapidly, with a single female capable of laying up to "30 eggs in their lifetime"; [38] prolonged darkness has been found to significantly promote mite population growth. [39]
Patients are advised to: [4]
Antihistamines and topical corticosteroids can be used for temporary relief of symptoms. [40]
In the case of scalp infestation, treatments with 1% permethrin shampoo can be used to remove the mites. [26] For ear canal infestation, aural toilet is recommended with a course of 1% permethrin to be used as ear drops and for infected wax to be removed by a professional. [9]
Ineffective and often prolonged attempts to eradicate infestations can result in economic issues, due to a significant financial outlay when patients relocate or attempt to control these infestations, as well as psychological problems such as depression. [12]
For pets, there are currently no registered products for treating gamasoidosis in mammals. The scientific literature documents medications which have been used off-label to treat the condition, including sarolaner in dogs, selamectin in cats and permethrin in horses. [41]
Gamasoidosis, particularly caused by D. gallinae, is source of growing concern in human medicine, due to factors such as limited awareness among medical specialists, lack of interdisciplinary collaboration, misdiagnoses, and an absence of diagnostic tools. [4] Occurrences of gamasoidosis have become more frequent in recent years, especially in residential environments, often linked to synanthropic birds. [23] A "One Health" approach has been recommended to remedy this, with microbiologists, veterinarians, parasitologists, epidemiologists, environmental scientists, and clinicians working together to treat the disease. [4]
D. gallinae may pose a threat to public health as the mite may be a vector or reservoir of several zoonotic pathogens, [23] such as Chlamydia psittaci , Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae , Salmonella spp., [23] Mycobacterium spp., Coxiella burnetii , Bartonella spp., [42] Borrelia afzelii , [43] Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus , Eastern equine encephalitis virus, and Fowlpox virus . [44] An association has not been found with gamasoidosis and alpha-gal allergy. [45]
Scabies is a contagious human skin infestation by the tiny (0.2–0.45 mm) mite Sarcoptes scabiei, variety hominis. The word is from Latin: scabere, lit. 'to scratch'. The most common symptoms are severe itchiness and a pimple-like rash. Occasionally, tiny burrows may appear on the skin. In a first-ever infection, the infected person usually develops symptoms within two to six weeks. During a second infection, symptoms may begin within 24 hours. These symptoms can be present across most of the body or just certain areas such as the wrists, between fingers, or along the waistline. The head may be affected, but this is typically only in young children. The itch is often worse at night. Scratching may cause skin breakdown and an additional bacterial infection in the skin.
The rock dove, rock pigeon, or common pigeon is a member of the bird family Columbidae. In common usage, it is often simply referred to as the "pigeon", although this is the wild form of the bird; the pigeons most familiar to people are the domesticated form of the wild rock dove.
Mites are small arachnids. Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari. However, most recent genetic analyses do not recover the two as each other's closest relative within Arachnida, rendering the group non-monophyletic. Most mites are tiny, less than 1 mm (0.04 in) in length, and have a simple, unsegmented body plan. The small size of most species makes them easily overlooked; some species live in water, many live in soil as decomposers, others live on plants, sometimes creating galls, while others are predators or parasites. This last type includes the commercially destructive Varroa parasite of honey bees, as well as scabies mites of humans. Most species are harmless to humans, but a few are associated with allergies or may transmit diseases.
Demodex is a genus of tiny mites that live in or near hair follicles of mammals. Around 65 species of Demodex are known. Two species live on humans: Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevis, both frequently referred to as eyelash mites, alternatively face mites or skin mites.
Poultry diseases occur in poultry, which are domesticated birds kept for their meat, eggs or feathers. Poultry species include the chicken, turkey, duck, goose and ostrich.
Acariasis is an infestation with mites.
Dermanyssus gallinae is a haematophagous ectoparasite of poultry. It has been implicated as a vector of several major pathogenic diseases. Despite its common names, it has a wide range of hosts including several species of wild birds and mammals, including humans, where the condition it causes is called gamasoidosis. In both size and appearance, it resembles the northern fowl mite, Ornithonyssus sylviarum.
Mesostigmata is an order of mites belonging to the Parasitiformes. They are by far the largest group of Parasitiformes, with over 8,000 species in 130 families. Mesostigmata includes parasitic as well as free-living and predatory forms. They can be recognized by the single pair of spiracles positioned laterally on the body.
Human parasites include various protozoa and worms.
Trombiculidae, commonly referred to in North America as chiggers and in Britain as harvest mites, but also known as berry bugs, bush-mites, red bugs or scrub-itch mites, are a family of mites. Chiggers are often confused with jiggers – a type of flea. Several species of Trombiculidae in their larva stage bite their animal or human host and by embedding their mouthparts into the skin cause "intense irritation" or "a wheal, usually with severe itching and dermatitis".
Ornithonyssus is a mite genus of the family Macronyssidae.
Ornithonyssus bacoti is a hematophagous parasite. It feeds on blood and serum from many hosts. O. bacoti can be found and cause disease on rats and wild rodents most commonly, but also small mammals and humans when other hosts are scarce. Outbreaks tend to occur in older, less maintained buildings. The mite, however, can travel several hundred feet on its own if necessary to find a host and can survive for extended periods of time without a host. This, along with the nonspecific dermatitis it causes, can prevent accurate and fast diagnosis of rat mite dermatitis. The scarcity of reports, due in part to misdiagnosis and also the mildness of its symptoms, makes the disease seem less common than it is. The tropical rat mite can be found in both temperate and tropical regions or rather all continents except the Arctic and Antarctic.
Pyemotes tritici is a species of mite known as the grain itch mite or straw itch mite. It is a cosmopolitan species that is found on straw, hay and stored grain. It is a parasite of small arthropods and is being investigated as a possible biological control of stored product pests. It is associated with dermatitis in humans, and it causes an itchy rash.
Androlaelaps casalis, formerly known as Haemolaelaps casalis, is a species of predatory mite that feeds on other mites and small invertebrates. It cannot bite or sting birds and humans because its mandibles are not designed for sucking but for predation on other mites. Because Androlaelaps casalis mites feed off parasitic mites like Dermanyssus gallinae, individuals with red colored abdomens can be found. This is not due to any blood-sucking by A. casalis but is because it has ingested blood-engorged parasitic mites. There is some evidence that it may be associated with dermatitis in humans.
Ornithonyssus bursa is a species of mite. It is most often a parasite of birds, but also has been found to bite humans and two species of mammals. It usually lives in birds' feathers, but for laying its eggs, it more often uses their nests rather than their feathers. Tropical fowl mites undergo five stages during their development: egg, larva, protonymph, deutonymph, and adult. During the last two stages, they suck blood from their host for food. They are often diurnal, whereas northern fowl mites are nocturnal in nature.
Ornithonyssus sylviarum is a haematophagous ectoparasite of poultry. In both size and appearance, it resembles the red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae.
Cheyletiella yasguri is a species of mites from the genus Cheyletiella popularly known as "walking dandruff" and one of the many ectoparasites that targets domestic dogs.
Mites that infest and parasitize domestic animals cause disease and loss of production. Mites are small invertebrates, most of which are free living but some are parasitic. Mites are similar to ticks and both comprise the order Acari in the phylum Arthropoda. Mites are highly varied and their classification is complex; a simple grouping is used in this introductory article. Vernacular terms to describe diseases caused by mites include scab, mange, and scabies. Mites and ticks have substantially different biology from, and are classed separately from, insects. Mites of domestic animals cause important types of skin disease, and some mites infest other organs. Diagnosis of mite infestations can be difficult because of the small size of most mites, but understanding how mites are adapted to feed within the structure of the skin is useful.
Mites are small crawling animals related to ticks and spiders. Most mites are free-living and harmless. Other mites are parasitic, and those that infest livestock animals cause many diseases that are widespread, reduce production and profit for farmers, and are expensive to control.
Rodent mite dermatitis is an often unrecognized ectoparasitosis occurring after human contact with haematophagous mesostigmatid mites that infest rodents, such as house mice, rats and hamsters. The condition is associated with the tropical rat mite, spiny rat mite and house mouse mite which opportunistically feed on humans. Rodent mites are capable of surviving for long periods without feeding and travelling long distances when seeking hosts. Cases have been reported in homes, libraries, hospitals and care homes. A similar condition, known as gamasoidosis, is caused by avian mites.