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Do Bites of Kissing Bugs Cause Unexplained Allergies? Results from a Survey in Triatomine-Exposed and Unexposed Areas in Southern California

BACKGROUND: The bite of Triatominae can cause cutaneous allergic reactions and even anaphylaxis. Since the early 1980s, no population-based surveys have been done in Southern California, and none was ever carried out in inland Los Angeles or Riverside Counties. OBJECTIVES: To measure the frequency o...

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Autores principales: Walter, Jan, Fletcher, Erin, Moussaoui, Roba, Gandhi, Kumar, Weirauch, Christiane
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2012
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3429444/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22937146
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0044016
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author Walter, Jan
Fletcher, Erin
Moussaoui, Roba
Gandhi, Kumar
Weirauch, Christiane
author_facet Walter, Jan
Fletcher, Erin
Moussaoui, Roba
Gandhi, Kumar
Weirauch, Christiane
author_sort Walter, Jan
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: The bite of Triatominae can cause cutaneous allergic reactions and even anaphylaxis. Since the early 1980s, no population-based surveys have been done in Southern California, and none was ever carried out in inland Los Angeles or Riverside Counties. OBJECTIVES: To measure the frequency of insect sightings, bites and allergic reactions in a suburban area of eastern Los Angeles County and along with rural and urban sites in Riverside County. METHODS: A door-to-door survey was done in triatomine exposed and unexposed areas. Logistic regression modeling was used for the analysis, and study participants were asked to collect insects. RESULTS: Out of the 221 study participants in the exposed areas, 46 (20%) knew about the presence of Triatominae in their neighborhood. Fifteen (7%) persons reported triatomine sightings in their house during the month preceding the interview. Also, 15 (7%) participants reported ever being bitten by a triatomine. Ten (5%) participants collected either a Triatoma protracta Uhler and/or Paratriatoma hirsuta Barber in and around their house. Twenty-nine (13%) persons in the rural Riverside County reported symptoms compatible with allergy to triatomine bites. This was 4 times higher than in the urban control area where only 4 (3%) of 115 persons reported these symptoms. The association between living in a triatomine-exposed area and self-reported symptoms suggestive of allergies increased slightly when adjusted for the participant’s sex and the age of their house (adjusted odds ratio: 5.1, 95% confidence interval: 1.2 to 22.0). Reporting these symptoms was associated with seeing Triatominae in the neighborhood and having been bitten. CONCLUSION: Allergies to triatomine bites could be a significant problem in inland Southern California. Further investigations, a diagnostic test and better information of persons living in triatomine-exposed areas are needed.
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spelling pubmed-34294442012-08-30 Do Bites of Kissing Bugs Cause Unexplained Allergies? Results from a Survey in Triatomine-Exposed and Unexposed Areas in Southern California Walter, Jan Fletcher, Erin Moussaoui, Roba Gandhi, Kumar Weirauch, Christiane PLoS One Research Article BACKGROUND: The bite of Triatominae can cause cutaneous allergic reactions and even anaphylaxis. Since the early 1980s, no population-based surveys have been done in Southern California, and none was ever carried out in inland Los Angeles or Riverside Counties. OBJECTIVES: To measure the frequency of insect sightings, bites and allergic reactions in a suburban area of eastern Los Angeles County and along with rural and urban sites in Riverside County. METHODS: A door-to-door survey was done in triatomine exposed and unexposed areas. Logistic regression modeling was used for the analysis, and study participants were asked to collect insects. RESULTS: Out of the 221 study participants in the exposed areas, 46 (20%) knew about the presence of Triatominae in their neighborhood. Fifteen (7%) persons reported triatomine sightings in their house during the month preceding the interview. Also, 15 (7%) participants reported ever being bitten by a triatomine. Ten (5%) participants collected either a Triatoma protracta Uhler and/or Paratriatoma hirsuta Barber in and around their house. Twenty-nine (13%) persons in the rural Riverside County reported symptoms compatible with allergy to triatomine bites. This was 4 times higher than in the urban control area where only 4 (3%) of 115 persons reported these symptoms. The association between living in a triatomine-exposed area and self-reported symptoms suggestive of allergies increased slightly when adjusted for the participant’s sex and the age of their house (adjusted odds ratio: 5.1, 95% confidence interval: 1.2 to 22.0). Reporting these symptoms was associated with seeing Triatominae in the neighborhood and having been bitten. CONCLUSION: Allergies to triatomine bites could be a significant problem in inland Southern California. Further investigations, a diagnostic test and better information of persons living in triatomine-exposed areas are needed. Public Library of Science 2012-08-28 /pmc/articles/PMC3429444/ /pubmed/22937146 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0044016 Text en © 2012 Walter et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Walter, Jan
Fletcher, Erin
Moussaoui, Roba
Gandhi, Kumar
Weirauch, Christiane
Do Bites of Kissing Bugs Cause Unexplained Allergies? Results from a Survey in Triatomine-Exposed and Unexposed Areas in Southern California
title Do Bites of Kissing Bugs Cause Unexplained Allergies? Results from a Survey in Triatomine-Exposed and Unexposed Areas in Southern California
title_full Do Bites of Kissing Bugs Cause Unexplained Allergies? Results from a Survey in Triatomine-Exposed and Unexposed Areas in Southern California
title_fullStr Do Bites of Kissing Bugs Cause Unexplained Allergies? Results from a Survey in Triatomine-Exposed and Unexposed Areas in Southern California
title_full_unstemmed Do Bites of Kissing Bugs Cause Unexplained Allergies? Results from a Survey in Triatomine-Exposed and Unexposed Areas in Southern California
title_short Do Bites of Kissing Bugs Cause Unexplained Allergies? Results from a Survey in Triatomine-Exposed and Unexposed Areas in Southern California
title_sort do bites of kissing bugs cause unexplained allergies? results from a survey in triatomine-exposed and unexposed areas in southern california
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3429444/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22937146
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0044016
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