Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-9pm4c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T15:44:36.132Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

An unusual outbreak of dermatitis due to rodent mite infestation in an acute-care hospital

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 May 2023

Majd S. Alsoubani*
Affiliation:
Division of Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts
Andrea S. Varela-Stokes
Affiliation:
Department of Comparative Pathobiology, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, North Grafton, Massachusetts
Gabriela M. Andujar Vazquez
Affiliation:
Division of Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts
Shirley Y. Huang
Affiliation:
Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts
Nicholas E. Heger
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts
Shira I. Doron
Affiliation:
Division of Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts
*
Corresponding author: Majd S. Alsoubani; Email: Majd.Alsoubani@tuftsmedicine.org

Abstract

We report an outbreak of dermatitis associated with Ornithonysus bacoti and Liponyssoides sanguineus infestation in an acute ambulatory care setting. Healthcare workers developed dermatitis prior to the identification of the outbreak. A collaborative team effort resulted in complete eradication.

Type
Concise Communication
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Engel, PM, Welzel, J, Maass, M, Schramm, U, Wolff, H. Tropical rat mite dermatitis: case report and review. Clin Infect Dis 1998;27:14651469.10.1086/515016CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Paddock, CD, Koss, T, Eremeeva, ME, et al. Isolation of Rickettsia akari from eschars of patients with rickettsialpox. Am J Trop Med 2006;75:732738.10.4269/ajtmh.2006.75.732CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fox, JG. Outbreak of tropical rat mite dermatitis in laboratory personnel. Arch Dermatol 1982;118:676678.10.1001/archderm.1982.01650210056019CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baumstark, J, Beck, W, Hofmann, H. Outbreak of tropical rat mite (Ornithonyssus bacoti) dermatitis in a home for disabled persons. J Dermatol 2007;215:6668.10.1159/000102037CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watson, J. New building, old parasite: mesostigmatid mites—an everpresent threat to barrier facilities. ILAR J 2008;49:303309.10.1093/ilar.49.3.303CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Koss, T, Carter, EL, Grossman, ME, et al. Increased detection of rickettsialpox in a New York City hospital following the anthrax outbreak of 2001: use of immunohistochemistry for the rapid confirmation of cases in an era of bioterrorism. Arch Dermatol 2003;139:15451552.10.1001/archderm.139.12.1545CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fishman, H. Rat mite dermatitis. J Cutis 1988;42:414416.Google ScholarPubMed
Dammhahn, M, Mazza, V, Schirmer, A, Göttsche, C, Eccard, JA. Of city and village mice: behavioural adjustments of striped field mice to urban environments. J Sci Rep 2020;10:112.Google ScholarPubMed
Associated Press. Rat sightings surge as New Yorkers emerge from pandemic. New York Post, May 11, 2022. Google Scholar