insect and related critter allergies
TRANSCRIPT
What’s bugging you?Insect (and related critter) allergies
Nathan Hare MDNovember 17, 2010
What are insects? Related critters that cause allergy
Dust mites What is an allergy? Why do we react? Examples of allergic disease
Asthma, rhinitis, conjunctivitis, hives and swelling, anaphylaxis
Immediate vs. Delayed reactions Mechanism of exposure – inhalation vs
bite vs sting Local reactions
Irritant vs allergic Systemic reactions
http://www.webmd.com/allergies/slideshow-bad-bugs
What is an Allergy?
The immune system reacts to something harmless (allergen)
It thinks that the allergen is dangerous
Symptoms are caused by the immune system trying to defend the body
“Hypersensitivity”
Routes of Allergen Exposure
Contact / touch
Breathing
Eating
Injection
Types of Allergic Reactions
Immediate
Delayed
Contact Allergens
Immediate Delayed
http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/toxra.htm
Inhaled Allergens
Immediate
www.doctorfungus.org
Cat Dander, Nat’nl Geographic, May 2006
Ingested Allergens
Immediate Delayed
Injected Allergens
Immediate
http://insectbitespictures.com/bee-sting-pictures.php
What is an insect?
“an organism with three pairs of legs and three body region– head, thorax, and abdomen.”
It has 6 legs
It has “a pair of antennae and external mouthparts.”
http://insects.about.com/od/insects101/p/whatisaninsect.htm
Identifying Insects
http://insects.about.com/od/insects101/ss/howtoidaninsect.htm
Insects
http://www.entomology.wisc.edu/
What is an Arachnid?
They have “two distinct regions, the cephalothorax and the abdomen.”
They have 8 legs.
They “lack wings and antennae.”
http://insects.about.com/od/noninsectarthropods/p/arachnida.htm
Arachnids
quickcare.org/skin/lice.html
http://www.realbollywood.com/news/2010/
http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/11/13/fluorescent-scorpion-in-uv-light/
Routes of Allergen Exposure
Contact / touch
Breathing
Eating
Injection
Bites
Mosqitoes Black Flies Chiggers Scabies Bed bugs Ticks Fleas Multicolored Asian Ladybeetles
Ticks
http://www.entomology.wisc.edu/insectid/insect_info.php?25
Mosquitos
Black Flies
http://www.ento.okstate.edu/ddd/insects/blackflies.htm
Fleas
Photo: World Health Organization http://insects.about.com/od/fleas/p/char_siphonapte.htm
Chiggers
Dr. W. Calvin Webourn and the Ohio State University Acarology Laboratoryhttp://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/avoid-outdoor-pests/chiggers
Bedbugs
http://urbanentomology.tamu.edu/bedbugs/bedbugs.cfm
Bedbugs
http://www.entomology.wisc.edu/insectid/insect_info.php?20
http://www.bedbugsremovalguide.com/bed-bug-bites.html
Bedbugs
http://urbanentomology.tamu.edu/bedbugs/bedbugs.cfm
Leverkus et al 2006
Fletcher et al. 2002
Bedbugs
No reaction Hives or swelling
Air-born Exposure / Inhalation
Cockroaches Multicolored Asian Lady Beetles Dust mites
Cockroaches
Main insect allergy Inner city asthma German and American cockroaches Allergens become airborne on particles
http://pested.unl.edu/comproa.jpg
Multicolored Asian Lady Beetles
http://www.entomology.wisc.edu/insectid/insect_info.php?65
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/news/2005/aug/072503.htm
Dust Mites (Acaridae)
0.3 mm long 8 legs Sightless Live on skin scales Entirely dependant on
ambient humidity for their moisture
Optimum growth at 65-80oF
Mite fecal pellet Source of allergens 10-35 μm
Dermatophygoides farinae
D. pteronyssinus D. microceras Blomia tropicalis
Florida in the US
D. farinaeNat’nl GeographicMay 2006
Stings
Honeybees Wasps Yellow jackets / hornets Fireants Caterpillars
Photograph by Raul Touzon
Ladybugs
Yellow Jackets
http://www.entomology.wisc.edu/insectid/insect_info.php?24
Bumblebee
http://www.entomology.wisc.edu/insectid/insect_info.php?409
Honeybee
(Jim Kalisch, UNL Entomology)
Paperwasp
http://www.entomology.wisc.edu/insectid/insect_info.php?418
Photo by S. Porter., http://fireant.tamu.edu/materials/multimedia_photos/
Fire Ants
Texas Department of Agriculture file photo., http://fireant.tamu.edu/materials/multimedia_photos/
Fire Ants
Texas Department of Agriculture file photos., http://fireant.tamu.edu/materials/multimedia_photos/
Fire Ants
Caterpillars
R. Bessin, Univ. of Kentuckyhttp://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef003.asp