A MEDLINE search, 1966 to 2008, of the world’s scientific literature of case reports, case series, original articles, reviews, and observational and longitudinal studies was conducted to determine the epidemiology,

outcomes, clinical manifestations, preferred diagnostic interventions, and management for mite-transmitted dermatoses and infectious diseases in returning travelers. In addition, a clinical classification of mite-transmitted infestations high throughput screening compounds and infections was developed to assist clinicians in assessing potential mite-transmitted skin and systemic infectious diseases in travelers. Mite infestations and infections were classified into the following distinct clinical and etiological categories: (1) the mite-transmitted dermatoses caused by human mites: scabies and follicle mite infestations (also known as demodecidosis or demodicosis); (2) the mite-transmitted dermatoses caused by non-human mites:

chiggers, zoonotic scabies, animal and plant and plant insect mite infestations, and dust mite allergies; and (3) the mite-transmitted systemic infectious diseases: scrub typhus and rickettsialpox (Table 1). Only two non-human, animal mites may transmit infectious diseases: (1) chiggers or trombiculid larval mites may transmit scrub typhus caused by the rickettsia-like bacterium, Orientia tsutsugamushi; and (2) house-mouse mites may transmit selleck kinase inhibitor rickettsialpox caused by the rickettsial microorganism, Rickettsia akari. Most mite species develop very close generational associations with their ecosystems and zoonotic reservoirs, often referred to as “mite islands.”1 Trombiculid mite islands usually border cleared land and scrub bush with grassy vegetation, warm soil temperatures, and high humidity. “Mite islands” have frequently visiting rodent

hosts for larval chiggers to feed upon and sufficient Megestrol Acetate small insect fauna to feed nymphs and adults. Travelers stumbling onto mite islands are at significantly higher risks of larval chigger bites (also known as “chiggers” or trombidiosis) worldwide or scrub typhus in endemic regions of Asia, Eurasia, and the South and West Pacific. Animal and plant mites establish their mite islands in animal dens, bird nests, trees, on fruits and vegetables, and even on cheeses and furniture. The epidemiology of arthropod-associated dermatoses in travelers returning from tropical countries has been studied extensively by investigators at the Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière in Paris. 2,3 The investigators concluded that dermatoses in travelers returning from tropical countries were common; accounted for one third of cutaneous disorders; and were significantly influenced by traveler status (age, sex, and nationality) and region visited.