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Tussockosis: an outbreak of dermatitis caused by tussock moths in Singapore
Author(s) -
Ooi P. L.,
Goh K. T.,
Lee H. S.,
Goh C. L.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
contact dermatitis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1600-0536
pISSN - 0105-1873
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0536.1991.tb01698.x
Subject(s) - outbreak , rash , tussock , medicine , histamine , dermatology , toxicology , veterinary medicine , biology , botany , pathology
An outbreak of acute pruritic rash occurred in Mutch 1990 among 141 residents of a high‐rise public housing estate in Bukit Panjang, Singapore. The typical rash consisted of urticarial lesions distributed over the limbs and trunk. The outbreak was associated with a transient increase in tussock moths in the residential estate following an unusual, short dry spell. The aetiology was established when patch tests with crude moth material produced similar eruptions in 5 out of 7 adult volunteers between 40 min and 12 h. Pharmacological experiments with an aqueous extract of moth hairs in isolated guinea pig ileum elicited a response similar to that induced by histamine.