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Diagnosis | Tropical rat mite (Ornithonyssus bacoti) acariasis

Lab Animal volume 34, pages 26–27 (2005)Cite this article

We made the diagnosis based on the history, the mite's behavior, and morphology. Our initial differential diagnoses also included the northern fowl mite (O. sylvarium) and the tropical fowl mite (O. bursa). Although these two mite species parasitize chickens as their preferred animal host, they are also known to attack mammals1. Additionally, because these two mites have been described to infest pigeons1, we were concerned that the research pigeons within the facility may have been the source of this outbreak. All three species of mites have been reported to attack people5. Specifically, case reports of O. bacoti-induced allergic dermatitis in people have been documented around the world including Africa3,6, Asia2,7, Europe8,9, India10, and the United States5,11,12. Recently, several unreported outbreaks of allergic dermatitis occurred at major research institutions in the United States (Cole, J.S.; Tinkey, P., personal communications).

Zoonotic disease of laboratory personnel was a real concern because the tropical rat mite has been shown to transmit the agents of Rickettsial pox, Q fever, murine typhus, eastern equine encephalitis, tularemia, and plague1. Furthermore, under experimental conditions, the tropical rat mite has the potential to transmit the agents of Lyme disease13 and Hantavirus hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome14. However, O. bacoti is not an efficient vector of Langat virus, the agent of tick-borne encephalitis virus complex15. Besides zoonotic disease transmission, the tropical rat mite is a natural mechanical vector for Litomosoides carinii, a filarial worm of the cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus)16.

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Figure 4: The tropical rat mite Ornithonyssus bacoti (40X magnification).

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Geraldine Werk for assisting with reference material and Vincent Flournoy for providing technical information on Mite Arrest.

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Diagnosis | Tropical rat mite (Ornithonyssus bacoti) acariasis. Lab Anim 34, 26–27 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/laban1005-26

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