A 76-Year-Old Woman Returning From Venezuela With Unusual Eruptions on the Feet

This is a typical case of tungiasis, a parasitic disease caused by the sand flea Tunga penetrans. The flea favors warm, dry environments, and tungiasis is prevalent in rural Central and South America, the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa. The gravid female sand flea penetrates mammalian skin headfir...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical infectious diseases 2018-06, Vol.66 (12), p.1973-1974
Main Authors: Kosumi, Hideyuki, Iwata, Hiroaki, Miyazawa, Hajime, Tsujiwaki, Masumi, Mai, Yosuke, Ando, Satomi, Ito, Takuya, Yamano, Kimiaki, Shimizu, Hiroshi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Dermis
Eruptions
Mouthparts
Parasitic diseases
Rural environments
Sand
Skin
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Summary:This is a typical case of tungiasis, a parasitic disease caused by the sand flea Tunga penetrans. The flea favors warm, dry environments, and tungiasis is prevalent in rural Central and South America, the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa. The gravid female sand flea penetrates mammalian skin headfirst, burrowing her mouthparts into the superficial dermis to feed on the host’s blood. As its abdomen swells, the pregnant flea becomes spherical and forms unique, uniform eruptions.
ISSN:1058-4838
1537-6591
DOI:10.1093/cid/cix1049