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Article
Open AccessHead lice as vectors of pathogenic microorganisms
Body lice and head lice are the most common ectoparasites of humans. Head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) occur worldwide in children and their caretakers, irrespective of their social status. In contrast, body ...
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Article
Open AccessCharacterization of tungiasis infection and morbidity using thermography in Kenya revealed higher disease burden during COVID-19 school closures
Tungiasis is a neglected tropical skin disease caused by the sand flea Tunga penetrans. Female fleas penetrate the skin, particularly at the feet, and cause severe inflammation. This study aimed to characterize d...
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Article
Clinical implications and treatment options of tungiasis in domestic animals
Tunga penetrans, Tunga trimamillata and Tunga hexalobulata are the three species of sand fleas which cause tungiasis in domestic animals. Tunga penetrans and T. trimamillata are zoonotic in the tropical and sub-t...
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Article
Open AccessHigh-resolution infrared thermography: a new tool to assess tungiasis-associated inflammation of the skin
Tungiasis is highly prevalent in low- and middle-income countries but remains often under diagnosed and untreated eventually leading to chronic sequels. The objective of the study was to assess whether tungias...
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Article
Open AccessHigh intensity of Tunga penetrans infection causing severe disease among pigs in Busoga, South Eastern Uganda
Towards the improvement of stakeholders’ awareness of animal tungiasis, we report 10 unusual severe clinical cases of pig tungiasis which were associated with very high infection intensities of T. penetrans in an...
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Article
Open AccessTreatment of tungiasis with a two-component dimeticone: a comparison between moistening the whole foot and directly targeting the embedded sand fleas
Tungiasis (sand flea disease) is caused by the penetration of female sand fleas (Tunga penetrans, Siphonaptera) into the skin. It belongs to the neglected tropical diseases and is prevalent in South America, the ...
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Article
Open AccessMorbidity assessment of Opisthorchis viverrini infection in rural Laos: I. Parasitological, clinical, ultrasonographical and biochemical findings
Infections with the food-borne trematode Opisthorchis viverinni are common in Southeast Asia. In Lao PDR alone, two million people are supposed to be infected. Opisthorchiasis may cause severe liver disease, even...
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Article
Open AccessTungiasis-associated morbidity in pigs and dogs in endemic villages of Uganda
Tunga penetrans (Insecta, Siphonaptera, Tungidae) causes severe morbidity among heavily infected humans and animals in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa. The clinical pathology of t...
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Article
Treatment of Pediculosis Capitis: A Critical Appraisal of the Current Literature
Pediculosis capitis is the most common ectoparasitic disease in children in industrialized countries and extremely common in resource-poor communities of the develo** world. The extensive use of pediculicide...
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Article
Seasonal fluctuations of head lice infestation in Germany
Pediculosis capitis is one of the most frequent infectious diseases in childhood. If not diagnosed and treated rapidly, considerable clinical pathology may develop. The ubiquitous parasitic skin disease is cha...
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Article
Open AccessA highly efficacious pediculicide based on dimeticone: Randomized observer blinded comparative trial
Infestation with the human head louse (Pediculus humanus capitis) occurs worldwide. Existing treatment options are limited, and reports of resistance to commonly used pediculicides have been increasing. In this t...
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Article
Investigations on the biology, epidemiology, pathology, and control of Tunga penetrans in Brazil: VII. The importance of animal reservoirs for human infestation
In Brazil tungiasis is endemic in many resource-poor communities, where various domestic and sylvatic animals act as reservoirs for this zoonosis. To determine the role of animal reservoirs in human tungiasis,...
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Article
Repetitive sequences in the ITS1 region of the ribosomal DNA of Tunga penetrans and other flea species (Insecta, Siphonaptera)
Different Tunga penetrans isolates from various hosts obtained from South America (Fortaleza. Brazil) have been studied by nucleotide sequence comparison of the first and the second internal transcribed spacer (I...
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Article
Investigations on the biology, epidemiology, pathology and control of Tunga penetrans in Brazil. VI. Natural history of the infestation in laboratory-raised Wistar rats
Tungiasis is endemic in many countries in Latin America, the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa, and it is associated with severe morbidity. The pathophysiological and immunological characteristics of the ectopa...
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Article
Morbidity assessment in sand flea disease (tungiasis)
Tungiasis, caused by the sand flea Tunga penetrans, is a health problem in many impoverished communities in Latin America, the Caribbean, and sub-Saharan Africa. Sand flea disease is associated with a broad spect...
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Article
Investigations on the biology, epidemiology, pathology and control of Tunga penetrans in Brazil. V. Cytokine concentrations in experimentally infected Wistar rats
Tungiasis is caused by the penetration of the female sand flea Tunga penetrans into the skin of its host. This parasitic skin disease is almost invariably associated with an intense inflammation around embedded ...
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Article
Investigations on the biology, epidemiology, pathology and control of Tunga penetrans in Brazil: IV. Clinical and histopathology
Tungiasis is a parasitic skin disease caused by the sand flea Tunga penetrans. This ectoparasitosis is endemic in South America, the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa, where it is an important but neglected health...
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Article
Investigations on the biology, epidemiology, pathology and control of Tunga penetrans in Brazil: III. Cytokine levels in peripheral blood of infected humans
Tungiasis is caused by penetration of the female jigger flea, Tunga penetrans, into the skin of its host. This parasitic skin disease is almost invariably associated with intense inflammation around embedded fle...
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Article
Investigations on the biology, epidemiology, pathology and control of Tunga penetrans in Brazil
Tungiasis is hyperendemic in many poor communities in Brazil and is associated with considerable morbidity. In order to understand the factors that determine the distribution of this ectoparasitosis in a rural...
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Article
Investigations on the biology, epidemiology, pathology and control of Tunga penetrans in Brazil: I. Natural history of tungiasis in man
Tungiasis is an important health problem in poor communities in Brazil and is associated with severe morbidity, particularly in children. The causative agent, the female flea Tunga penetrans, burrows into the sk...
