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Arthropod Bites and Stings

»	What are arthropods? Are most arthropods harmful to humans?
»	Describe various ways arthropods injure humans. What insect or arachnid would cause the injury?
Bites and Stings
»	How do you diagnose a bite or sting?
»	Why are some bites and stings extremely painful or dangerous while others are simply itchy, red, irritating papules?
»	One person on a hike is “eaten alive” by mosquitos while his companions are not bothered at all. Do ectoparasites such as mosquitos, ticks, fleas, and mites bite randomly?
»	Why are bite reactions to ectoparasites so much different in different people?
»	How do you treat bee stings?
»	What are the signs of serious systemic reactions to bee, wasp, or ant stings?
»	How do you treat anaphylactic syndrome from a bee sting?
»	What are the unique characteristics of fire ants and their sting?
»	What species of spiders are medically important?
»	How do you diagnose and treat the black widow spider bite?
»	How do brown recluse spider bites present?
»	How should brown recluse spider bites be treated?
Infestations
»	What is scabies?
»	How is scabies characterized clinically?
»	What is Norwegian scabies?
»	What agents are used to treat scabies?
»	Discuss the three varieties of lice that affect humans.
»	How should lice infestations be treated?
Zoonotic Infestations
»	How do flea infestations typically present?
»	How do you treat a flea infestation?
»	How is Cheyletiella infestation recognized in humans? In animals? How does it compare to canine scabies?
»	Where do bedbugs live? What do their bites look like?
»	Do species of bedbugs that parasitize other animals bite humans?
»	What are zoonotic dermatoses?
Insect Vectors
»	What are the kissing, or assassin, bugs?
»	Why are kissing bugs important?
»	What diseases are transmitted by ticks?
»	What is the most common tick-borne infectious disease in the United States?
»	How does Lyme disease present?
»	Why do the tick bites often go unnoticed?
»	How do tick bites affect humans? How are ticks removed once they are attached to the skin?
»	How do you prevent tick bites?
»	Name some important arthropod-borne diseases.
»	What are the most effective insect repellents?

Describe various ways arthropods injure humans. What insect or arachnid would cause the injury?

Vesication/blister: Blister beetle
Envenomation: Bees, ants, spiders
Allergic sensitization (salivary proteins and enzymes in bee venom): Bed bugs, mosquitos, bees, and ants
Invasion: Human botfly; tungiasis: penetrating fleas
Contact urticaria: Setae from butterflies and moths
Necrosis: Brown recluse spider
Secondary infection: Any bite or sting, usually staphylococci
Vector of disease: Mosquito, tick
- Tick
Bacterial: Lyme disease
Rickettsial: Rocky Mountain spotted fever
Viral: Colorado tick fever
- Mosquito: West Nile, malaria, yellow fever, filariasis
- Deer fly, tick: Tularemia
- Human body lice: Epidemic typhus
- Tsetse fly: African sleeping sickness
- Black fly: Onchocerciasis

Alexander JOD: Arthropods and the human skin, Berlin, 1984, Springer-Verlag.