Pruritic Dermatitis Caused by Bird Mite Infestation (an article from MDEdge)
To the Editor:
There are a wide variety of zoonotic diseases that can be transmitted from birds to humans. Pigeons, chickens, starlings, canaries, and parakeets are known reservoirs of one particular zoonotic infection caused by the parasitic arthropod Dermanyssus gallinae.1 Dermanyssus gallinae (chicken mite) and Ornithonyssus sylviarum (northern fowl mite) are collectively referred to as bird mites. When these mites are unable to take blood meals from birds, they search out alternative hosts2; in humans, this often leads to the development of pruritic dermatitis.3
A 30-year-old woman presented to our clinic for evaluation of severe generalized pruritus accompanied by a sensation of “bugs on the skin” of 2 weeks’ duration. She noted the pruritus worsened
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