title: Tungiasis - A Janus-faced parasitic skin disease.
abstract: Tungiasis is a parasitic skin disease caused by the penetration of female sand fleas (Tunga penetrans). It is acquired when people walk barefoot or rest on soil, where sand fleas have completed the off-host cycle. Tungiasis is a classic poverty-associated disease which belongs to the family of neglected tropical diseases (NTD). It has a Janus-face: while in travellers tungiasis usually is a benign self-limiting skin disease, inhabitants of endemic areas suffer from heavy infestations and severe, frequently debilitating and incapacitating morbidity. We describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of travel-associated tungiasis and compare these features to the situation in resource-poor communities in South America and sub-Saharan Africa.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology and Hygiene, Charité Medical School, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Hindenburgdamm 27, D-12203 Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: hermann.feldmeier@charite.de.
authors.forename: Hermann
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Feldmeier
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Keysers
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007630:Kenya / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D058069:Neglected Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D057236:Travel Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D058253:Tunga; D058285:Tungiasis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Imported disease; Morbidity; Neglected tropical disease; Tungiasis