Case of Human Infestation with Dermanyssus gallinae (Poultry Red Mite) from Swallows (Hirundinidae)

Sioutas, Georgios; Minoudi, Styliani; Tiligada, Katerina; Chliva, Caterina; Triantafyllidis, Alexandros; Papadopoulos, Elias

doi:10.3390/pathogens10030299

Open AccessCase Report

Case of Human Infestation with Dermanyssus gallinae (Poultry Red Mite) from Swallows (Hirundinidae)

by

Georgios Sioutas

¹

,

Styliani Minoudi

²,

Katerina Tiligada

³

,

Caterina Chliva

^4,5,

Alexandros Triantafyllidis

²

and

Elias Papadopoulos

^1,*

¹

Laboratory of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece

²

Department of Genetics, Development and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece

³

Department of Pharmacology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 10679 Athens, Greece

⁴

Allergy Unit “D. Kalogeromitros”, 2nd Department of Dermatology and Venereology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 12462 Athens, Greece

⁵

Medical School, University General Hospital “ATTIKON”, 12462 Athens, Greece

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Pathogens 2021, 10(3), 299; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10030299

Submission received: 12 February 2021 / Revised: 24 February 2021 / Accepted: 28 February 2021 / Published: 4 March 2021

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Update of Animal Parasitic Diseases)

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Abstract

Dermanyssus gallinae (the poultry red mite, PRM) is an important ectoparasite in the laying hen industry. PRM can also infest humans, causing gamasoidosis, which is manifested as skin lesions characterized by rash and itching. Recently, there has been an increase in the reported number of human infestation cases with D. gallinae, mostly associated with the proliferation of pigeons in cities where they build their nests. The human form of the disease has not been linked to swallows (Hirundinidae) before. In this report, we describe an incident of human gamasoidosis linked to a nest of swallows built on the window ledge of an apartment in the island of Kefalonia, Greece. Mites were identified as D. gallinae using morphological keys and amplifying the Cytochrome C oxidase subunit I (COI) gene by PCR. Bayesian phylogenetic analysis and median-joining network supported the identification of three PRM haplogroups and the haplotype isolated from swallows was identical to three PRM sequences isolated from hens in Portugal. The patient was treated with topical corticosteroids, while the house was sprayed with deltamethrin. After one week, the mites disappeared and clinical symptoms subsided. The current study is the first report of human gamasoidosis from PRM found in swallows’ nest.

Keywords: Dermanyssus gallinae; gamasoidosis; poultry red mite; swallows; COI gene; PCR; avian mite dermatitis; Greece

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MDPI and ACS Style

Sioutas, G.; Minoudi, S.; Tiligada, K.; Chliva, C.; Triantafyllidis, A.; Papadopoulos, E. Case of Human Infestation with Dermanyssus gallinae (Poultry Red Mite) from Swallows (Hirundinidae). Pathogens 2021, 10, 299. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10030299

AMA Style

Sioutas G, Minoudi S, Tiligada K, Chliva C, Triantafyllidis A, Papadopoulos E. Case of Human Infestation with Dermanyssus gallinae (Poultry Red Mite) from Swallows (Hirundinidae). Pathogens. 2021; 10(3):299. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10030299

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sioutas, Georgios, Styliani Minoudi, Katerina Tiligada, Caterina Chliva, Alexandros Triantafyllidis, and Elias Papadopoulos. 2021. "Case of Human Infestation with Dermanyssus gallinae (Poultry Red Mite) from Swallows (Hirundinidae)" Pathogens 10, no. 3: 299. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10030299

APA Style

Sioutas, G., Minoudi, S., Tiligada, K., Chliva, C., Triantafyllidis, A., & Papadopoulos, E. (2021). Case of Human Infestation with Dermanyssus gallinae (Poultry Red Mite) from Swallows (Hirundinidae). Pathogens, 10(3), 299. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10030299

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Case of Human Infestation with Dermanyssus gallinae (Poultry Red Mite) from Swallows (Hirundinidae)

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