Click pic for info ... ;-)
Posted on 09/14/2007 8:49:40 PM PDT by SwinneySwitch
Dermatologists in North Texas were alerted Friday to be on the lookout for a rare skin infection caused by a parasite that may have migrated north from the Mexican border.
The disease, leishmaniasis, typically causes a half-dollar-sized boil that takes six to 12 months to heal. It is not considered life-threatening.
Doctors at UT Southwestern Medical Center said they have identified nine cases of the skin disease in North Texans in recent months. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that all nine people, both adults and children, were infected by the parasite, Leishmania mexicana.
Typically found in Mexico or along the Texas border, it is carried by wood-burrowing rats and spread by tiny sand flies that bite both the rats and humans.
"None of the North Texas cases had traveled south or to parts of the world where the disease is endemic, which suggests they got it here," said Dr. Kent Aftergut, a Dallas dermatologist who identified the first apparent local infection in March.
Weldon Hatch, a 58-year-old Waxahachie man, said he sought Dr. Aftergut's care after two small red spots appeared on his shoulder in February. Later, the lesions grew to the size of a quarter, became itchy and painful.
"All the creams and salves didn't do anything," he said. "So my doctor gave up, and I went to an expert."
Dr. Aftergut diagnosed the skin ailment and later shared Mr. Hatch's case with other Dallas-area dermatologists, who realized they had treated similar cases.
The other leishmaniasis cases were confirmed in Hillsboro in Hill County, Tom Bean in Grayson County, Anna and Nevada in Collin County, Savoy in Fannin County, North Richland Hills in Tarrant County, and in Glenn Heights, which straddles Dallas and Ellis counties.
Dr. Barbara Herwaldt of the CDC's division of parasitic diseases....
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
Mexican Sand Flies: Doing the jobs American flies won’t do!
Now, I’m really itchy, thanks Cobra..
First it was just my arms, and back..now, it’s my face, and stomach..and....well, that’s private!
Bug avatar, indeed.
Dadgum you Cobra, I really thought that was a bug on my screen. Have been trying to get it off. LOL
The first thing i did when i saw your comment was to poke my computer screen to kill the bug...i need to get more sleep at night.
Diseases? Who cares. As long as we get cheap stuff.
THANKS, BFL
My dad lives in north central Texas, close to Fort Worth, and he got a case of leishmaniasis (the lesion was on his wrist) about 5 years ago. At that time, it was so rare in Texas that his doctor asked him to go to a dermatologists’ convention that was being held in FW so that the other docs could see what it looked like in person! My father said it was kind of amusing, being Exhibit A for all the docs. (And no, my dad had not traveled anywhere to acquire the parasite. It found him right there in Texas.)
The information we had from the CDC at that time was that there were actually TWO forms of the disease: one that was relatively benign, and would eventually go away on its own ... and another form that attacked interior organs and could be life-threatening. Made my dad a little nervous, waiting to see which one he had.
The story mentioned L. mexicana, IIRC. Save the appropriate link for Dorland's if you don't have it.
“Honey, honest it’s just a leishmaniasis boil. I think I got it in mexico.”
Illegal-alien rats; time to deal with this problem...
You mean there really is such a thing as cooties?
Then click "images"
I dare you! ;-)
One of the funniest moments I ever had in my life was a result of this. I'd tutored about 15 of the students in an anatomy class I was in. During the final, every few minutes, I'd hear a *very*quiet*faint* humming....
"I'm a little teapot..."
One of my best memories!
(My poor children were homeschooled with this psychotic for 7 years! But their smart!)
I thought this was going to be about that ugly black thing that grows out of your body like a space alien. That sounds a lot worse than this is.
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