title: [Main parasitic skin disorders].
abstract: Cutaneous parasitic skin diseases are frequent in human pathology. There are few reliable epidemiological data on the prevalence and/or incidence of such diseases. Skin parasites are cosmopolitan but their global distribution is heterogenous; prevalence is especially high in subtropical and tropical countries. They are mainly due to arthropods (insects and mites). Many species of parasites are involved, explaining the diversity of their clinical signs. The most common are caused by ectoparasites such as scabies or pediculosis (head lice, body lice and pubic lice). Clinical signs may be related to the penetration of the parasite under the skin, its development, the inoculation of venom or allergic symptoms. Diagnosis can be easy when clinical signs are pathognomonic (e.g. burrows in the interdigital web spaces in scabies) or sometimes more difficult. Some epidemiological characteristics (diurnal or nocturnal bite, seasonality) and specific clinical presentation (single or multiple bites, linear or grouped lesions) can be a great diagnostic help. Modern non-invasive tools (dermoscopy or confocal microscopy) will play an important role in the future but the eye and experience of the specialist (dermatologist, parasitologist, infectious disease specialist or entomologist) remains for the time the best way to guide or establish a diagnosis. For most skin parasites, therapeutic proposals are rarely based on studies of high level of evidence or randomized trials but more on expert recommendations or personal experience.
authors.affiliation: Service de dermatologie, hôpital Henri Mondor, AP-HP, université Paris-Est, 51, avenue du Maréchal-de-Lattre-de-Tassigny, 94010 Créteil, France; EA Dynamyc, UPE, EnvA, institut médical de recherche biologique (IMRB), Maisons-Alfort & Créteil, 94704 Créteil, France. Electronic address: bernigaud.charlotte@gmail.com.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bernigaud
authors.affiliation: Service de maladies-infectieuses et tropicales, hôpital La Pitié-Salpêtrière, AP-HP, 75013 Paris, France.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Monsel
authors.affiliation: Inserm U1065, centre méditerranéen de médecine moléculaire, C3M, université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis, 06000 Nice, France; Service de parasitologie-mycologie, hôpital de l'Archet, centre hospitalier universitaire de Nice, 06000 Nice, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Delaunay
authors.affiliation: Service de dermatologie, hôpital Henri Mondor, AP-HP, université Paris-Est, 51, avenue du Maréchal-de-Lattre-de-Tassigny, 94010 Créteil, France; Service de médecine interne, centre hospitalier intercommunal de Créteil, 94010 Créteil, France.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Do-Pham
authors.affiliation: Unité de parasitologie-mycologie, département de microbiologie, hôpital Henri-Mondor, AP-HP, DHU VIC, université Paris-Est, 94010 Créteil, France.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Foulet
authors.affiliation: EA Dynamyc, UPE, EnvA, institut médical de recherche biologique (IMRB), Maisons-Alfort & Créteil, 94704 Créteil, France; Unité de parasitologie-mycologie, département de microbiologie, hôpital Henri-Mondor, AP-HP, DHU VIC, université Paris-Est, 94010 Créteil, France.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Botterel
authors.affiliation: Service de dermatologie, hôpital Henri Mondor, AP-HP, université Paris-Est, 51, avenue du Maréchal-de-Lattre-de-Tassigny, 94010 Créteil, France.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Chosidow
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D010373:Lice Infestations / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology; D008925:Mites; D015995:Prevalence; D012532:Scabies / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology; D012876:Skin Diseases, Parasitic / Q000145:classification* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology
keywords: Arthropod; Arthropode; Ectoparasites; Gale; Parasitic skin disease; Parasitose; Scabies