Blood-sucking fleas cause nearly 160 people to develop atopic dermatitis

On March 27, Mr˳ Nguyen The Phiet – director of Thach Ha District Health Center (Ha Tinh) – said that this unit is focusing on propagandizing and guiding people to implement measures to prevent and control dermatitis˳ allergies caused by insects˳

Around the end of February, 2023, some people in Phuc Thanh village (Thach Khe commune, Thach Ha district) were bitten by an insect that caused itching, scratching, and redness spreading all over the body˳ The patients have been examined and treated at a number of hospitals inside and outside the province, but there is no improvement˳

After receiving the information, the functional sector conducted an epidemiological surveillance investigation, caught and preliminarily diagnosed the type of insect appearing in Phuc Thanh village˳ Through the initial investigation, there were 64 households with 158 people being bitten by insects causing itching and skin inflammation˳

People who are bitten by insects all show signs of scratching their skin, a red rash caused by scratching itchiness˳ Some people even itch the whole body, affecting health and quality of life˳

Through inspection, the functional sector discovered many insects clinging to utensils and items in people’s houses, some also cling to people’s clothes and skin to bite˳

Examine closely the insect is dark brown, the body is smaller than a grain of rice and has 6 legs˳ In addition, this insect is also found clinging to animals˳

The culprit is a blood-sucking flea

Mr˳ Nguyen Huu Thanh – deputy director of Ha Tinh Center for Disease Control, said that through initial surveillance, people in Phuc Thanh village had allergic dermatitis caused by flea bites˳

This is a flea that specializes in biting and sucking the blood of animals, often in densely populated areas˳ When there is a shortage of food, they turn to sting and feed on human blood˳

Fleas live in nooks and crannies of walls, beds, cabinets, corners of the house, often stinging people at night and do not like light˳ Flea bites will cause local itching, scratching can cause superinfection dermatitis; or can transmit dangerous diseases such as typhus, plague˳

Ha Tinh Center for Disease Control has instructed Thach Khe Commune Health Station to implement measures to prevent blood-sucking fleas on humans, such as spraying chemicals to kill fleas, and cleaning the environment˳ At the same time, it is recommended that people go to the doctor after being bitten by fleas, for those who are seriously ill, they need to be hospitalized for treatment˳

According to Mr˳ Nguyen The Phiet, over the past time, the local health sector has focused on spraying insects and fleas in the whole village where the outbreak occurred, organizing screening for people˳ People who were bitten by fleas with underlying skin conditions were all stable˳ No further cases of allergic dermatitis caused by fleas have been reported˳

What should be noted with atopic dermatitis?

TTO – What should people with contact dermatitis and atopic dermatitis do to limit the recurrence of the disease? In addition to going to the doctor, taking medicine, what should be noted?