title: Tussockosis: an outbreak of dermatitis caused by tussock moths in Singapore.
abstract: An outbreak of acute pruritic rash occurred in March 1990 among 141 residents of a high-rise public housing estate in Bukit Panjang, Singapore. The typical rash consisted of urticarial lesions distributed over the limbs and trunk. The outbreak was associated with a transient increase in tussock moths in the residential estate following an unusual, short dry spell. The aetiology was established when patch tests with crude moth material produced similar eruptions in 5 out of 7 adult volunteers between 40 min and 12 h. Pharmacological experiments with an aqueous extract of moth hairs in isolated guinea pig ileum elicited a response similar to that induced by histamine.
authors.affiliation: Quarantine & Epidemiology Department, Ministry of the Environment, Singapore.
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Ooi
authors.forename: K T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Goh
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Goh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D003872:Dermatitis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009036:Moths / Q000276:immunology*; D012846:Singapore / Q000453:epidemiology; D014581:Urticaria / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology