"A Parasitological and Clinical Survey on Cercarial Dermatitis in Khuzestan Province, South Western Iran"
Cercarial dermatitis or swimmers’ itch is an itchy inflammatory response to the penetration of the skin by non-human schistosome parasites. In the hot season, May to September, in Khuzestan province in the south west of Iran, swimming in canals and agriculture activities in swampy areas are common....
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Tehran University of Medical Sciences
2003-09-01
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| Series: | Iranian Journal of Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://ijph.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijph/article/view/1957 |
| Summary: | Cercarial dermatitis or swimmers’ itch is an itchy inflammatory response to the penetration of the skin by non-human
schistosome parasites. In the hot season, May to September, in Khuzestan province in the south west of Iran, swimming
in canals and agriculture activities in swampy areas are common. This survey was made on people from villages north
of Ahwaz city in south west Iran, to estimate cercarial dermatitis in this region. For this purpose 2000 people were
observed for clinical signs of cercarial dermatitis. Also 2000 Lymnaea gedrosiana snails were collected from
agriculture canals and examined for animal schistosome cercariae during 1998-2000. From this survey 1.1% of people
had pruritic maculopapular rash on their feet, hands or other parts of body. From the total of examined snails, 2.4%
were found to be infected with bird schistosome cercariae including Trichobilharzia sp. Cercarial dermatitis could be a
health problem in this area. This is the first report of cercarial dermatitis from this region of Iran. |
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| ISSN: | 2251-6085 2251-6093 |