Mites (acari) infesting commensal rats in Suez Canal zone, Egypt.

Mites are arthropods distinguished from ticks by usually being microscopical in size and have a hypostome unarmed with tooth-like anchoring processes. They are group in a number of suborders, each with super-families and families including many genera of medical and economic importance. In this paper, commensal rodents (Rattus norvegicus, R. r. alexandrinus and R. r. frugivorous) were surveyed in the Suez Canal Zone for their acari ectoparasites. Four species of mites were recovered. In a descending order of mite indices, they were Eulaelaps stabularis (4.83 on 6 rats), Laelaps nuttalli (3.11 on 27 rats), Ornithonyssus bacoti (1.66 on 9 rats) and Dermanyssus gallinae (0.66 on 24 rats). The overall mite indices in the three governorates were 3.66 in Suez, 2.82 in Ismailia and zero in Port Said. The medical and economic importance of the mites were discussed.

Demodex (follicular mite) infesting a boy and his pet dog.

Intense iritation and dermatitis, somewhat resembling that produced by scabies can result from various mites living as temporary ectoparasites on the skin of man. Demodex folliculorum is a worm-like mite that infests hair follicles above the level of sebaceous glands in various mammals. In this paper, Demodex folliculorum was recovered from a boy and his pet dog. Both the boy and the dog were successfully treated with permethrin.

Four species of house dust mites recovered from houses of patients with allergic respiratory diseases.

Arthropods and their products are wide spread and considered one of the common allergens affecting man. Allergy to arthropod antigens is the major cause of respiratory allergy as rhinitis and bronchial asthma. The range of reaction depends on several factors which include the type and source of the material, the rate of intensity, the duration of exposure, the human immune response and history of prior exposure. Successful management of allergic disease depends on proper identification of the causative allergen and reduce exposure to this allergen. Generally speaking, the house dust is not a simple substance but an accumulation of living and non living parts as mites, pollens, molds, dander and decaying insects. In the present study, four species of mites were isolated from the dust collected from the houses of patients with allergic respiratory diseases. The species were Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, D. farinae, Ornithonyssus bacoti and Haemogamassus pontiger. The two species of Dermatophagoides. were the predominant mites which are known to produce the most potent allergies. Studying the serum immunoglobulins level showed that the IgE had a highly significant concentration among respiratory allergic patients (28) with (5) or without (23) atopic dermatitis. It was concluded that house dust mites, that cause inhalant allergens, are one of the main aetiological factors of allergic respiratory diseases, with or without atopic dermatitis.

Studies on zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis among a group of temporary workers in North Sinai Governorate, Egypt.

Leishmaniasis (cutaneous, CL. and visceral, VL.) is an increasing public health problem in the Mediterranean Region. From a practical point of view, ZCL is the most important and distributed form in Egypt. Consequently, it was aimed to study the status of ZCL among a group of temporary workers in North Sinai Governorate. The results showed that (i) rodent populations are more or less common in Al Arish City (Rattus rattus and R. norvegicus), Bir Lehfan (Gerbillus pyramidum) and Abo Oegela (G. pyramidum. Meriones crassus and Jaculus jaculus). (ii) Phlebotomus papatasi the main vector of ZCL is common in nearly all areas in North Sinai. (iii) ZCL. was identified (smear and/or culture as well as IHAT) among five workers out of 30 (16.7%). (iv) isolates recovered from P. papatasi trapped in Sad Al Rawafei and G. pyramidum trapped in Abo Oegela proved biochemically (isoenzyme cellulose acetate electrophoresis) to be Leishmania major indistinguish from each other. Discussion and recommendations were given.

Immunoglobulins in patients with atopic dermatitis due to mites infestation in Qualyobia Governorate, Egypt.

Atopic dermatitis (A.D.) is a hereditary and distinct form of eczema which may be associated with other atopic manifestations. The aetiopothogenesis of A.D. is unknown and it is widely accepted that both intrinsic and extrinsic factors are involved. House dust mites (HDM) are of great medical importance in causing allergic manifestations in human being. In the present work, a total of 30 A.D. patients with different ages of both sexes were examined for the immunoglobulins level as compared to control group. The IgG, IgM, IgA & IgE were higher in the patients than in the controls. These differences were highly significant in the IgE. On the other hand, IgA showed no significant increase.