Steady Rise In Skin Parasites Noted

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31775, 4 September 1968, Page 6

Steady Rise In Skin Parasites Noted

(By

JANE E. BRODY)

Dogs, cats, love-ins and the Vietnam war have been blamed for a steadily rising incidence of mites, lice and fleas among human beings. One British veterinarian found that among 65 persons in contact with mite-infested dogs, 50 also became hosts for the skin parasites. He urged doctors—and patients—to be oh the look-out for parasite caused skin irritations. Writing in a recent issue of the British Medical Journal, Dr L. R. Thomsett cited a case of a women who underwent 18 months of psychiatric treatment because her itchy, pimply rash was thought to be of emotional origin. During treatment, the- rash

became worse and the woman finally decided to have her dog examined. Both the dog and its master were found to be infested with the mite, Cheyletiella parasitovorax, which usually lives in the hairy coat of dogs, cats and rabbits. Three weeks of washing with a medicated soap and a thorough cleaning Of possibly contaminated house furnishings rid both the woman and her pet of their common affliction. Endure Discomfort Dr Thomsett expressed surprise at his finding that miteinfested owners often endure their discomfort “for a considerable time, in some cases years, before seeking a professional opinion for themselves or their animal.” Part of the problem, according to Dr Deane P. Furman, parasitologist at the University of California, Berkeley, is embarrassment. Professionals like Dr Furman frequently receive telephone calls from embarrassed persons who say their neighbour or mother-in-law has fleas. Dr Furman says that fleas may take to biting people, especially after the family dog —their favourite host—has died or run away. Since fleas can transmit diseases as well as be terrible pests, Dr Furman suggests getting rid of them fast by applying insecticides to infested animals and to the nooks and crannies where fleas like to breed. Lice Common A more common parasite of man—lice —has been infesting a rapidly increasing number of persons in recent years.

The National Drug and Therapeutic Index reports that from 1962 to 1965 there was a 527 per cent increase in lice infestations of man. Most of the increase was attributed to crab lice, or Phthirus pubis, barely visible creatures, which live in the pubic hairs and are transmitted primarily through sexual contact.

An American dermatologist, Dr A. Bernard Ackerman, observed that “in permissive America of the 19605, crab lice are harboured not only by streetfighter and streetwalker, but by executive and debutante."

Writing in a recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, he cited the “hippie love-in" as a “unique contemporary source for dissemination of crabs.” Quick Treatment

Crab lice hosts are often driven to seek medical aid, Dr Ackerman said, by the “maddening itch”' that generally ensues. He reported that treatment is quick and simple —a single 24-hour application of gamma benzene hexachloride, available with a doctor’s prescription either as a cream, lotion or shampoo. Gamma benzene hexachloride is being used now in large amounts by the United States military forces to combat body and head lice among servicemen in Vietnam. War, with its limited washing facilities, is conducive to the growth and survival of lice. In addition to causing itchy dematitis, lice can transmit such disease as typhus and trench fever.—Copyright, 1968, “New York Times” News Service.