Trombiculiasis in domestic goats and humans in the state of Maranhão, Brazil.
Trombiculiasis is an infestation caused by larval mites (chiggers) of the family Trombiculidae. Here, we provide the first report on parasitism by the chigger species Eutrombicula alfreddugesi (Oudemans) and Eutrombicula batatas (Linnaeus) in goats and humans on farms in the state of Maranhão, northeastern Brazil. Severe itching and dermatitis caused by the chiggers' bites were seen. From a total of 779 examined goats, 214 of them showed clinical signs of infestation, as well as family members of three farms of the region. Most of the cases occurred during the rainy season, from March to September.
Departamento de Parasitologia Animal, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro - UFRRJ, Seropédica, RJ, Brasil.
João Luiz Horácio
JL
Faccini
Departamento de Patologia, Unidade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Estadual do Maranhão - UEMA, São Luís, MA, Brasil.
Ana Clara Gomes
AC
Santos
Laboratório de Bacterioses dos Animais Domésticos, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco - UFRPE, Recife, PE, Brasil.
Sandra Batista
SB
Santos
Laboratório Especial de Coleções Zoológicas, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
Fernando de Castro
FC
Jacinavicius
Laboratório de Parasitologia, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
Ricardo
R
Bassini-Silva
Laboratório de Parasitologia, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
Darci Moraes
DM
Barros-Battesti
D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D015511:Goat Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000469:parasitology; D006041:Goats; D006801:Humans; D014323:Trombiculiasis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000662:veterinary*; D014324:Trombiculidae / Q000145:classification