Case Report: Human Dermatitis Linked to Ornithonyssus bursa (Dermanyssoidea: Macronyssidae) Infestation in Portugal

Abstract

Ornithonyssus bursa (Berlese, 1888), also known as the tropical fowl mite, is a blood-feeding ectoparasite of domestic and wild birds. It is considered a serious pest to poultry in warm and tropical climates and has been reported to attack humans, causing gamasoidosis. Avian-mite dermatitis may be difficult to recognize and misdiagnosed as bites from other arthropods. The present report describes two cases of human dermatitis linked to O. bursa infestation. Both cases occurred in an apartment in a residential area in Oeiras, Portugal, where two members of the same family presented with pruritic erythematous skin eruptions disseminated over their body over a period of 4 months. The lesions were located mostly in the pelvic, gluteal, coccygeal, and perineal regions, and also on the neck, wrists and torso. On inspecting the mattresses and the covers of the bedrooms, three mites ~1 mm long by 0.5 mm wide were found. The three specimens were identified as O. bursa. Investigations tracing back the source of infestation, revealed that the mites were carried over from chickens raised 45 km away (Sesimbra, Setúbal) that, after being slaughtered for consumption, had been transported by car to the apartment in Oeiras. The chickens were farmed in an open backyard henhouse that allowed free access to several species of wild birds, including pigeons (Columba livia), turtle doves (Streptopelia decaocto), and sparrows (Passer domesticus). Recent reports suggest that O. bursa may be established in Mediterranean countries, increasing the risk of gamasoidosis. This is the first record linking O. bursa infestation of chickens with human dermatitis in continental Portugal. More research is needed to assess the extent of poultry infestation and evaluate the possible implications for the poultry industry, as well as for human health in Portugal.

Characterization of cysteine proteases from poultry red mite, tropical fowl mite, and northern fowl mite to assess the feasibility of developing a broadly efficacious vaccine against multiple mite species

“…These effects result in substantial economic losses to the poultry industry [ 4 , 6 , 7 ] and negatively impact animal welfare [ 5 ]. Furthermore, the mites are of veterinary and medical importance due to their potential role in the transmission of avian pathogens [ 8 ] and tendency to bite humans, which causes itching and dermatitis [ 9 ].…”

Primer reporte de Ornithonyssus bursa (Berlese, 1888) (Acari: Mesostigmata: Macronyssidae) en República Dominicana

“…De este género de ácaros, tres especies se consideran como problemas de salud pública: el ácaro de los gallineros Ornithonyssus sylviarum (Canestrini & Fanzago,1877), el ácaro de las ratas Ornithonyssus bacoti (Hirst, 1913) y el ácaro de las aves O. bursa (Radovsky, 2010). La especie O. bursa se ha reportado en regiones tropicales, subtropicales y templadas de Asia, África, Australia, América y Europa (Castelli et al, 2015;Denmark & Cromroy, 2021;Lima-Barbero et al, 2019;Rodríguez García et al, 2017;Waap et al, 2020). Como otros Macronyssidae, esta especie es parásita de aves (Bassini-Silva et al, 2020;Briceño et al, 2021;Mullen & OConnor, 2019;Takatsu et al, 2021;Waap et al, 2020;Oyarzún-Ruiz et al, 2021), además de tener reportes de picadas a humanos (Bassini-Silva et al, 2022;Cafiero et al, 2018;Mentz et al, 2015;Waap et al, 2020).…”

“…La infestación de O. bursa en humanos ocurre cuando se manipulan aves infectadas o nidos (Arrabal et al, 2012;Mesquita-Sousa et al, 2020;Waap et al, 2020). También, suele ocurrir cuando las aves abandonan los nidos construidos en los aleros de las viviendas o cercanas a ellas; los ácaros se dispersan hacia el interior en procura de alimento a través de ventanas, puertas y conductos eléctricos (Mazini et al, 2022;Mullen & OConnor, 2019).…”

“…El ave P. domesticus es cosmopolita de origen euroasiático, de hábito gregario, granívora y sinantrópica (Anderson, 2006;Murgui, 2011). Su presencia en núcleos urbanos y en áreas rurales puede ser un problema de salud pública y ambiental, debido a que han sido asociadas con diferentes parásitos, entre ellos O. bursa (Lareschi et al, 2017;Oyarzún-Ruiz et al, 2021;Waap et al, 2020;). En República Dominicana, P. domesticus ha sido registrado en núcleos urbanos, específicamente en la ciudad de Santo Domingo (Almonte, 2018).…”

“…El ácaro de las aves O. bursa se puede controlar en las casas, quitando los nidos que están cerca de rejillas de ventilación, techos, acondicionadores de aire, chimeneas y ventanas(Masini, et al, 2022;Mentz et al, 2015;Mullen & OConnor, 2019). Si no se destruyen los nidos en las viviendas, las personas afectadas podrían seguir padeciendo la dolencia, sin mejora alguna(Waap et al, 2020). Esto fue observado en el presente caso, ya que cinco meses más tarde hubo un nuevo ataque.…”