Clinical features of 18 patients with either lymphocytic meningoradiculitis (n = 17) or chronic encephalomyelitis (n = 1) due to Borrelia burgdorferi are reported. Arthropod bites were recorded in only seven patients. High titres of anti B burgdorferi antibodies were detected in sera from all patients and in CSF from 12 out of 17 patients tested. All patients had CSF abnormalities especially pl...

INTRODUCTION Beekeepers are a group of people with high exposure to honeybee stings and with a very high risk of allergy to bee venom. Therefore, they are a proper population to study the correlations between clinical symptoms and results of diagnostic tests. AIM The primary aim of our study was to assess the correlations between total IgE, venom- and phospholipase A2-specific IgE and clinica...

Although Indonesia has been rabies-infected since at least the 1880s, some islands remain rabies-free, such as Lombok. However, due to its adjacency to rabies-infected islands such as Bali and Flores, there is considerable risk of a rabies incursion. As part of a rabies risk assessment project, surveys were conducted to estimate the size of the dog population and to describe dog management prac...

Reports of bed bug infestations in major cities in the United States and abroad have been in the public press. Physicians and other clinicians who care for children need to be able to recognize bed bug bites and understand the social, psychological, and medical implications that this diagnosis will have on patients and their families. In this article, a case presentation serves to guide discuss...

A study has shown that, when applied to Physalia ("bluebottle") jellyfish stings, cold packs are effective as topical analgesia in the relief of mild-to-moderate skin pain. The application of ice also has been shown to be effective for topical analgesia in a number of other jellyfish stings, including by Cyanea ("hair jellyfish"), Tamoya sp. ("Moreton Bay stinger" or "fire jelly") and Carybdea ...

People frequently experience whealing and delayed papules from mosquito bites. Various antihistamines have previously been tried for the treatment of this condition. We performed a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study with levocetirizine 5 mg and matched placebo in 30 adults who were sensitive to mosquito bites. On the third treatment day the subjects received two Aedes aegypti bi...

As inhabitants of forested areas, caves and anthropic environments, the phlebotomines deserve special attention because some species are able to transmit trypanosomatids, bacteria and viruses to vertebrates. Phlebotomines are also a nuisance because they cause painful bites, which may ultimately produce allergic manifestations. The lack of information about the presence and behaviours of sand f...

Here we report the cases of five patients with a late onset of acute urticaria after a bee sting. The ages of the five Japanese patients ranged from 33 to 86 years (median: 61). All patients had no history of an allergic reaction to bee stings. The onset of urticaria was 6-14 days (median: 10) after a bee sting. Although four of the patients did not describe experiencing a bee sting at their pr...

(1) Hospital Universitário Walter Cantídio, Departamento de Medicina Clínica, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, CE, Brasil. (2) Hospital Geral de Fortaleza, Serviço de Nefrologia, Secretaria de Saúde do Estado do Ceará, Brasil. (3) Departamento de Análises Clínicas e Toxicológicas, Faculdade de Farmácia, Odontologia e Enfermagem, Universidade Federal do Ceará, For...

Five cases of adder bites are presented. The clinical effects and current recommendations for the treatment of adder bites are described based on a review of previously published literature. All adder bites, or snake bites of unknown species, should be observed for a minimum of 2 h. Those with no local swelling may be allowed home with appropriate antitetanus prophylaxis. Patients with local re...