Ant allergy in Benha district Qualyobia governorate, Egypt

Individuals from Banha City and some adjacent villages were presented with various degrees of skin allergy. Children spending the night sleeping on the floor were suffered from generalized lymphadenopathy with or without fever. The patients were successfully treated with carbolic acid [1:25]. Oral anti-histamine [H1] and systemic antibiotics were indicated in the complicated cases. In the concrete houses of the patients, a huge number of the large ants [mainly Catagliphus bicolar] were found. Spreading or burning dried leaves of camphor tree proved to be effective against the ants. Discussion also focused on the medical importance of ants