Scarabiasis
| Scarabiasis | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Canthariasis or "beetle-disease" |
 | |
| Top view image of a scarab beetle | |
| Specialty | Infectious disease |
| Symptoms | Loss of appetite, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, vomiting, nausea, and insects in stool. |
| Prevention | Avoidance of unsanitary foods and use of clothing when defecating or indulging in outdoor activities. |
| Treatment | Metronidazole and saline purgatives |
Scarabiasis, also known as Canthariasis[1] or "beetle-disease", is a condition where beetles temporarily infest the digestive tract of humans. Scarabs, a type of dung beetle originating in the Mediterranean, usually fly away from the anus after defecation.[2] Reported symptoms of scarabiasis include loss of appetite, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, vomiting, nausea, and insects in stool. Scarabiasis has been known to infect the gastrointestinal tract, urogenital system, nasal sinuses, ears, and faces of mammals.[3]
Hypothesis[]
The true method of infestation is unknown; however, experts have developed two methods of possible ways scarabs are able to infiltrate mammals.
One hypothetical mode of entry is through food by mouth (per os)[4] The dung beetles, during their early stages, may be ingested accidentally with food, when, for instance, young children eat food picked up from dirt or mud floors.[4] In one example, the mud floors of houses in East Bengal, where cases of scarabiasis are common, are smeared every morning with a mixture of cow dung in water, but whether these species of beetle oviposit in cow dung is not known. In the case of entrance via the mouth, the eggs or later stage insects must be not only able to withstand the acidity of intestinal juices, but also grow and develop into its adult stage while in the intestine.
Furthermore, the more common mode of entry is through the anus (per anum).[4] It has been idealized that the dung beetles may have entered the people affected through the anus. For example, as scarabiasis is more common in children, the time of entrance is possibly when children play outside naked, while they are sleeping, or while they are defecating.[4] With this mode of entry, it is important to note that, animal dung, especially cattle droppings, has long been regarded to serve as food and a microhabitat for both adult and larval stages of beetles.[citation needed] Because of this, it is believed that the dung beetles are attracted to the scent of human feces and crawl into the anus during defecation.
Prevalence[]
Canthariasis is most commonly found in children, usually between ages 2 and 6 years, living in tropical and agricultural environments, typically in the various regions of India and bordering countries.
References[]
- ^ Bose K, Saha S, Banerjee D, Sengupta M (2016-12-05). "Scarabiasis: A rare infestation in humans". Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health. 45 (4): 286–287. doi:10.4038/sljch.v45i4.7977. ISSN 2386-110X.
- ^ Karthikeyan G, Ganesh R, Sathiasekeran M (August 2008). "Scarabiasis". Indian Pediatrics. 45 (8): 697–699. PMID 18723917.
- ^ Sun X, Wang LF, Feng Y, Xie H, Zheng XY, He A, et al. (May 2016). "A case report: A rare case of infant gastrointestinal canthariasis caused by larvae of Lasioderma serricorne (Fabricius, 1792) (Coleoptera: Anobiidae)". Infectious Diseases of Poverty. 5 (1): 34. doi:10.1186/s40249-016-0129-6. PMC 4853848. PMID 27138301.
- ^ a b c d Strickland C, Roy DN (July 1939). "Scarabiasis or the Presence of Beetles in the Intestine". The Indian Medical Gazette. 74 (7): 416–419. PMC 5151429. PMID 29011819.
External links[]
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