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Skeeter syndrome

Severe allergic inflammatory reaction from mosquito bites

Field	Value
name	Skeeter syndrome
image	CulexNil.jpg
caption	Culex mosquito on a human finger
symptoms	Redness, heat, abnormal swelling surrounding bite site, pus, pain at the site

Skeeter syndrome (papular urticaria) is a localized severe allergic reaction to mosquito bites, consisting of inflammation, peeling skin, blistering, ulceration and sometimes fever. It is caused by allergenic polypeptides in mosquito saliva, and therefore is not contagious. It is one of several forms, being one of the most severe, of allergic responses to mosquito bites, termed mosquito bite allergies.

The condition may vary between individuals based on the reaction size and severity. Some individuals may experience reactions only to some bites and not others, thought to be attributed to varying reactions to different species of mosquitoes.

Although the term seems informal, it has appeared in scientific literature.

Diagnosis

Differential diagnosis

Skeeter syndrome should not be confused with another type of reactivity to mosquito bites, severe mosquito bite allergy (SMBA). SMBA is most often an Epstein-Barr virus-associated lymphoproliferative disease that complicates ~33% of individuals with chronic active Epstein-Barr virus infection or, in extremely rare cases, individuals with Epstein-Barr virus-positive Hodgkin disease or an Epstein-Barr virus-negative lymphoid disease such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia and mantle cell lymphoma. It is a hypersensitivity reaction characterized by the rapid development of skin redness, swelling, ulcers, necrosis and scarring following mosquito bites. The reaction is often accompanied by relatively severe systemic symptoms such as fever and malaise; enlarged lymph nodes, liver, and/or spleen; liver dysfunction; hematuria; and proteinuria.

Treatment

Taking oral cetirizine regularly has been known to help those who suffer from skeeter syndrome. In addition to oral steroids, topical steroids and other anti-itch creams can ease the reaction.

References

(2000). "'Skeeter Syndrome' Describes Local Allergic Reactions to Mosquito Bites". The American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.
(2002). "A mosquito salivary protein inhibits activation of the plasma contact system by binding to factor XII and high molecular weight kininogen". Journal of Biological Chemistry.
(2015). "[Hypersensitivity to mosquito bite manifested as Skeeter síndrome]". Revista Alergia Mexico.
(1999). "Skeeter syndrome". Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
(December 2016). "Primary EBV infection and hypersensitivity to mosquito bites: a case report". Virologica Sinica.
(September 2018). "Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated lymphoid proliferations, a 2018 update". Human Pathology.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

allergology syndromes culicidae

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