Occasional human infestations by feral pigeons' ectoparasites: Two case reports

Abstract

Dermanyssus infestation is a rural parasitic problem occurs occasionally in urban areas in people with close contact to pigeons. It can be diagnosed through clinical cutaneous symptoms in exposed body parts, nocturnal itching, and presence of mites in infested locations and can be treated by antiacaricide, environmental, and symptomatic treatments.

Keywords: Dermanyssus sp.; ectoparasite; itching; pigeon; poultry.

Figure 1

Multiple small reddish itchy papules on the right shoulder of the first patient reported as case 1 (A) and forearms of the second patient presented as case 2 (B)

Figure 2

Microscopic illustration of Dermanyssus samples (A, collected from the first patient and B, from the second patient) processed in the present study

Figure 3

Neighbor‐Joining phylogenetic tree constructed based on COI gene sequences of Dermanyssus species obtained in the present study (highlighted in red) together with those deposited in GenBank