Global InformationTungiasis information
| Tungiasis | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Nigua,[1] Pio and Bicho de pie,[1] or Pique[1] or Sand flea disease[2] |
 | |
| Chigoe flea | |
| Specialty | Infectious diseases  |
Tungiasis is an inflammatory skin disease caused by infection with the female ectoparasitic Tunga penetrans, a flea also known as the chigoe, chigo, chigoe flea, chigo flea, jigger, nigua, sand flea, or burrowing flea (and not to be confused with the chigger, a different arthropod). The flea and the disease that it causes are found in the tropical parts of Africa, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and India. Tunga penetrans is the smallest known flea, measuring 1 mm across. It is also known in Latin America as the nigua and bicho de pie (Spanish) or bicho de pé (Portuguese), literally "foot bug".[3][4] Tunga penetrans is a member of the genus Tunga, which comprises 13 species.[5][6]
Tungiasis causes skin inflammation, severe pain, itching, and a lesion at the site of infection that is characterized by a black dot at the center of a swollen red lesion, surrounded by what looks like a white halo. Desquamation of the skin is always seen, especially after the flea expands during hypertrophy.
As of 2009, tungiasis is present worldwide in 88 countries with varying degrees of incidence.[7] This disease is of special public health concern in highly endemic areas such as Nigeria, Trinidad and Tobago, and Brazil, where its prevalence, especially in poor communities, has been known to approach 50%.[8]
The chigoe flea is properly classified as a member of the order Siphonaptera as it is a flea. Although commonly referred to as chiggers, true chiggers are mites, which are minute arachnids.[9] Mites penetrate the skin and feed on skin cells that are broken down by an enzyme they secrete from their mouthparts, but they do not lay eggs in the host as T. penetrans does. Moreover, in mites, the adult and the larval forms both feed on other animals. This is not the case with T. penetrans, as only the adults feed on mammals and it is only the female that stays attached to the host.[citation needed]
Tunga penetrans is also known by the following names: chigoe flea, sand flea, nigua, chigger flea, jigger flea, bicho de pé, pico, sikka, kuti, and piqui, among many others.[10]
- ^ a b c Rapini, Ronald P.; Bolognia, Jean L.; Jorizzo, Joseph L. (2007). Dermatology: 2-Volume Set. St. Louis: Mosby. ISBN 978-1-4160-2999-1.
- ^ Feldmeier, Hermann; Heukelbach, Jorg; Ugbomoiko, Uade Samuel; Sentongo, Elizabeth; Mbabazi, Pamela; von Samson-Himmelstjerna, Georg; Krantz, Ingela (2014-10-30). "Tungiasis—A Neglected Disease with Many Challenges for Global Public Health". PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. 8 (10): e3133. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0003133. ISSN 1935-2727. PMC 4214674. PMID 25356978.
- ^ Nagy, N.; Abari, E.; D’Haese, J.; Calheiros, C.; Heukelbach, J.; Mencke, N.; Feldmeier, H.; Mehlhorn, H. (2007). "Investigations on the life cycle and morphology of Tunga penetrans in Brazil". Parasitology Research. 101 (Suppl 2): S233–42. doi:10.1007/s00436-007-0683-8. PMID 17823833. S2CID 23745194.
- ^ Tungiasis at eMedicine
- ^ Beaucournu, J.-C.; Degeilh, B.; Mergey, T.; Muñoz-Leal, S.; González-Acuña, D. (2012). "Le genre Tunga Jarocki, 1838 (Siphonaptera: Tungidae). I – Taxonomie, phylogénie, écologie, rôle pathogène". Parasite. 19 (4): 297–308. doi:10.1051/parasite/2012194297. ISSN 1252-607X. PMC 4898135. PMID 23193514.
- ^ Linardi, Pedro Marcos; Beaucournu, Jean-Claude; de Avelar, Daniel Moreira; Belaz, Sorya (2014). "Notes on the genus Tunga (Siphonaptera: Tungidae) II – neosomes, morphology, classification, and other taxonomic notes". Parasite. 21: 68. doi:10.1051/parasite/2014067. ISSN 1776-1042. PMC 4270284. PMID 25514594.
- ^ http://www.gideononline.com[full citation needed]
- ^ Heukelbach, Jorg. "Invited Review—Tungiasis." Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo 47.6 (2005): 307–313.
- ^ "Chiggers". About.com. 27 Feb. 2009 <http://pediatrics.about.com/od/dermatologytopics/a/06_chiggers.htm>
- ^ Heukelbach, Jorg. Tungiasis. Sept. 2004. Orphanet.com. 23 Feb. 2009 <http://www.orpha.net/data/patho/GB/uk-Tungiasis.pdf>
