Do Fleas Burrow Under The Skin
How Sand Fleas Cause 'Extreme' Infections
Serious infections with sand fleas — parasites that burrow into people's peel — are rare and haven't been documented much over the last 50 years. But now, a new report describes 5 cases of "extreme" sand flea infections in Republic of colombia, showing that life-threatening illnesses with this parasite all the same occur.
The five patients each had hundreds to thousands of sand fleas embedded in their pare, and about of the patients were unable to motility as a result of their condition, according to the report, published today (February. 7) in the periodical PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. One patient even needed a blood transfusion due to severe anemia — likely the result of the claret-sucking fleas.
Such extreme cases often go unnoticed by health care providers, because the patients with these infections live in remote areas and lack admission to health care, the report said.
"The true frequency of this devastating condition is probably underestimated," the study authors wrote. [8 Awful Parasite Infections That Will Make Your Skin Crawl]
Burrowing fleas
Sand fleas, or Tunga penetrans, are native to certain tropical areas, including parts of South America, the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. In humans, the insects cause a disease called tungiasis, in which the fleas burrow into the peel — commonly in parts of the toes, the sole or the heel of the pes.
The fleas persistently suck the claret of their hosts and tin increase their body size past a factor of 2,000 within weeks, according to the World Health Organization. Burrowed fleas tin cause intense inflammation, hurting and itching, and in severe cases, the burrowing can cause multiple lesions on the person'southward feet, making it hard to walk.
The fleas lay eggs through a hole in the skin, and the eggs autumn to the ground where they hatch. Afterwards about 3 weeks, the burrowed parasite dies and ceases causing symptoms. This means that, in theory, the disease is "self-limiting," or goes abroad on its own later a period of time, the written report authors said. However, in endemic and poverty-stricken areas, reinfection with the fleas is common and a person's "parasite load" can gradually increase over fourth dimension, the authors said.
In the new written report, the researchers described 5 patients with tungiasis living in indigenous communities in a region of southeastern Republic of colombia chosen the Vaupés section, which is part of the Amazon basin. The patients were seen over a period of 12 weeks at a infirmary in the city of Mitú, the simply hospital in the region.
Nigh of the patients were elderly (ages 69 to 94); lived in farthermost poverty; and had underlying conditions, such as osteoarthritis, that prevented them from moving around a lot.
The patients each had from 400 to 1,300 sand fleas embedded in their skin. The fleas were not merely in the people's feet, but also in their knees, elbows, hands and fingers. All of the patients either had difficulty walking or were completely immobile when they were taken to the ER. Most had lost weight and muscle, weighing less than 80 lbs. (36 kilograms). All of the patients likewise had bacterial infections in their lesions.
Risk factors
A number of factors appeared to put the patients at run a risk for severe sand flea infections. The people were elderly, which meant they frequently had poor vision and weren't able to remove initial sand fleas with sharp instruments, every bit is usually done in the expanse. Problems with mobility led them to stay in the same spot for hours at a fourth dimension — often in a hammock shut to the ground — where they could have contact with soil and get reinfected with fleas. And due to extreme poverty, the patients' family members had difficulty caring for them.
Although the new report is small, with but five cases, "it identified a pattern of characteristics which together decide [how] a self-limiting peel infection develops into a life-threatening disease," wrote the written report authors, from the Vaupés Health Department.
The patients were treated with a medicine known as dimeticone, an oil that has been previously used to treat head lice. The report shows that this handling is effective in killing hundreds of sand fleas, the authors said. After treatment in the recent cases, the patients recovered apace and could endeavour to walk again.
"Dimeticone should be made available to treat patients in an early on stage of disease to avert life-threatening sequels," the authors ended.
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Originally published on Live Science .
Rachael has been with Alive Science since 2010. She has a chief'southward degree in journalism from New York University'south Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program. She likewise holds a B.S. in molecular biology and an M.South. in biological science from the University of California, San Diego. Her work has appeared in Scienceline, The Washington Post and Scientific American.
Source: https://www.livescience.com/64716-sand-fleas-extreme-infections.html
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