Prevalence of papular urticaria caused by flea bites and associated factors in children 1–6 years of age in Bogotá, D.C.

Abstract

BackgroundPapular urticaria is a chronic inflammatory disease caused by exposure to arthropod bites. The disease has been reported in children attending medical centers, but the causes as the risk factors associated with the disease have not been established. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of papular urticaria caused by flea bite and identify the risk factors in children between 1 to 6 years of age in Bogotá D.C, between March 2009 and June 2011.MethodsA cross-sectional, two-stage, clustered study using random probability sampling and stratified with proportional allocation was carried out in children (1–6 years of age) in educational institutions in Bogotá D.C. to determine the prevalence of the disease. Children underwent a dermatological examination by general practitioners with a previous training. Furthermore, digital photographs of skin lesions were taken for further confirmation of the diagnosis by dermatologists. A structured survey was completed by the parents or caregivers, and it was evaluated using an unconditional logistic regression to identify factors associated with the disease.ResultsA total of 2437 children were included in the study. The prevalence of papular urticaria caused by flea bite in this population was 20.3% (CI 95%: 18.2 to 22.5%). The major risk factors associated with the disease were the presence of fleas in households (OR 1.74, CI 95%: 1.35 to 2.25), using mattresses without springs (OR 1.73, CI 95%: 1.20 to 2.50), the use of daily public transportation to carry the children to the educational institutions (OR 1.76, CI 95%: 1.07 to 2.89), having a soil/earth floor in the main bedroom (OR 6.81, CI 95%:1.16–39.96), and having siblings with a history of atopic dermatitis (OR 1.76 CI 95%: 1.07–2.89).ConclusionsA high prevalence of papular urticaria caused by flea bite was found in Bogotá D.C. The main factors associated with the disease might be modified with the implementation of prevention, control strategies in housing, educational institutions, and public transportation.

Prevalence and Pattern of Skin Diseases among School Age Children at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Nigeria: A Hospital Based Study

“…In our study, Papular urticaria was the most prevalent skin disease found, this was closely followed by scabies, atopic dermatitis and Dermatophyte infection. Other studies in Nigeria and in other African countries reported similar findings, though the point prevalence of the diseases varies from one study to the other [7,11,12,14,15,24,25] Papular urticaria is a hypersensitivity reaction to bites from mosquitoes and other insects and presents as recurrent or chronic Papular rashes [26] The high prevalence of Papular urticaria in this study may be related to the intense mosquito bites in Port Harcourt and in other communities within Rivers State, Nigeria [27] An earlier hospital based study in Port Harcourt had similar findings [28]. We noticed a high prevalence (29.39%) of transmissible skin diseases in this study, which is similar to the 27.2% reported by Amin et al in Saudi Arabia, [29] higher than the 8.8% reported by Khalifa et al among school children in Iraq, [22] and much lower than the 61% reported in Kerala in India.…”

Prurigo por insecto y alergia a la picadura del mosquito: estudio de caso

“…La prevalencia de alergia a la saliva de los mosquitos es desconocida, sin embargo, se ha documentado que una pequeña proporción de la población reacciona de forma exagerada, entre 1 y 3%, lo cual puede producir reacciones anafilácticas por la picadura. 5,6 El tratamiento se basa principalmente en la prevención. La resolución clínica del cuadro aparece entre los siete y ocho años de edad, los adultos rara vez presentan la enfermedad, pero puede ocurrir por la exposición a antígenos diferentes.…”

Prevalence of skin diseases in children 1 to 6 years old in the city of Bogota, Colombia

“…In a previous study, in the city of Bogotá, the prevalence of papular urticaria caused by flea bites in this population was 20.3% (CI 95%: 18.2 to 22.5%) in children aged 1–6 years. 6 Also, observing that the indicators of poverty had a risk factor associated with developing flea bite papular urticarial, 6 which could be a public health problem that needs further study. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of skin diseases among the student population aged 1–6 years old from March 2009 to June 2011.…”