title: Kissing bugs (Triatoma) and the skin.
abstract: Kissing bugs (Family Reduviidae) can be the source of nocturnal dermatologic wounds in the mid to southern latitudes in the United States. The insects are obligate blood feeders and though the bites may be asymptomatic, a variety of dermatologic eruptions or death from anaphylaxis can result. The various dermatologic forms of the bite can be mistaken for herpes zoster, erythema multiforme and the ubiquitous catch-all diagnoses of "spider-bite."
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomlogy, University of California Riverside, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vetter
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic / Q000469:parasitology; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000469:parasitology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006562:Herpes Zoster / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D007299:Insect Bites and Stings / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008018:Life Cycle Stages; D013045:Species Specificity; D014224:Triatoma / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology