Entries from August 2008 ↓

According to Cincinnati’s NBC affiliate WLWT.com, the Hamilton County Public Health Department (in Ohio) is now warning residents of a suspected outbreak of Pyemotes mites in the area.  The source of the itchy bites is yet to be positively identified.

Last year there was an outbreak of Pyemotes mites (also known as “Oak leaf gall mites” or “Itch Mites”) in Chicago. The same happened in 2004 in Lincoln, Nebraska, and in Kansas.

WLWT said,

Hamilton County Public Health is warning about occurrences of insect bites from what appears to be itch mites (oak leaf gall mite) and an investigation is ongoing to confirm the source.

The health district said recent bites appear to be consistent with those from microscopic mites, which are not known to transmit disease in humans.

“We suspect the cause of these insect bites is itch mites which inhabit in tree leaves,” Health Commissioner Tim Ingram said. “The mites cannot be seen and the bites are not felt, but leave an itchy red mark that can resemble a skin rash.”

The article also says “The bites are described as having tiny scabs in the center of a reddened area sometimes extending 3 to 4 centimeters.”

This site has pictures of Pyemotes itch mite bites.

If you’re in an area with an itch mite problem, the article recommends a number of preventive measures including DEET insect repellent, laundering clothing daily (since itch mites can live on it for a few days), showering when you come home, and avoiding woody areas in the evening.

It is also important to remember that Hamilton County and Cincinnati are also suffering from the bed bug epidemic.  Remember that itchy spots that appear to be insect bites might also be bed bug bites, as well as a number of other things.

The Erie Times-News reports on another scabies outbreak in a nursing home.

Tiny parasites forced one of Erie County’s largest nursing homes to repeatedly disinfect its Alzheimer’s unit and treat many of its residents.

Fifteen residents of the Gallagher Center of Saint Mary’s Home East, 607 E. 26th St., developed what physicians believe was scabies, a contagious skin infection caused by skin mites. An unknown number of staff and patients’ family members also developed the condition.

“We never found the organism on any patient, but based on their symptoms, we believe it was scabies,” said Dorothy Candib, M.D., Saint Mary’s Home medical director.

The first case was reported in the spring, though most cases were reported in June and July, Candib said. The original patient was treated by a dermatologist, but other cases followed.

The first case was identified after family members came down with scabies following a visit to their relative in the hospital:

Carla Slomski and several members of her family developed scabies after visiting their father, Thomas Piotrowicz, who was a resident in the Gallagher unit until his death April 30.

Apparently the problem is cleared up now. According to the article, no one currently has scabies in this unit.

You can read the article here.

This article by Sandra G. Boodman (accessible from SouthCostToday.com) describes the unusual case of a doctor (an infectious disease specialist, no less) who had trouble getting his scabies diagnosed by doctors.  And yet the fourth dermatologist, Howard Luber, had no trouble identifying the problem. Norwegian scabies, or crusted scabies:

The diagnosis was so obvious, Luber recalled, that his nurse suggested it after taking Robert Clark’s history and looking at the angry, encrusted rash that blanketed nearly every inch of the 64 year old’s body except his face.

Luber’s certainty was all the more surprising because of who the patient was and what he’d endured: A physician who specialized in infectious diseases, Clark had seen numerous doctors, including three dermatologists, immunologists, internists and infectious disease experts, all of whom had been stumped by the cause of his ferocious, uncontrollable itching. He had undergone two skin biopsies and taken countless drugs, but he would still awaken with fingernails bloody from scratching his skin raw. Doctors who had treated him for more than a year couldn’t decide whether his problem was severe eczema, a rare cancer, an unusual fungal infection, an autoimmune disorder or an unspecified allergy.

Scabies can look like other conditions, but it can also be tested with a skin scraping.  It is not usually so difficult to detect.  If you suspect scabies, see your doctor for a skin test and treatment.

The Ottawa SUN reports that five confirmed and two suspected cases of scabies meant 137 employees and 55 residents required preventive medical treatment:

Five confirmed and two probable cases have been diagnosed in the Foyer du Bonheur at 125 Lionel-Emond Blvd. in the Hull sector. All of the cases are on the same floor.

The facility had a scabies outbreak a year ago.

You can read more about scabies mites here.
Or read the Ottawa SUN article here.