Diagnostic des parasitoses cutanées en France

Cutaneous skin diseases due to parasites are common and mostly caused by ectoparasitosis such as Sarcoptes scabiei, which provokes scabies (pruritus, burrow). Lice (Pediculus humanus and Phtirus pubis) also cause pruritus. Diagnosis is based on the presence of eggs. Myiasis is due to the larvae (maggots) of some flies that infest the subcutaneous tissue or mucous membranes. Diagnosis relies on the morphologic characteristics of the maggot. Tunga penetrans (or chiggoe flea) burries in the cutaneous tissue of the feet, causing great pain. Hookworm related cutaneous Larva migrans are due to dog hookworms which pass through the skin and patients present with creeping dermatitis. Filariosis (loasis, onchocerciasis, bancroftian filariasis) give rise to pruritus, but are uncommon in tourists. Cutaneous leishmaniasis has a broad clinical spectrum and its diagnosis relies on the finding of Leishmania in a cutaneous swab from the border of the ulcer.