Contact irritant dermatitis from insect secretions: report of 74 cases in a military unit in Eritrea.

Eritrea is situated on the east coast of Africa, bordering Sudan, Djibouti and Ethiopia. It is hot and dry in the desert strip along the Red Sea coast, cooler and wetter in the central highlands, and semi-arid in the western hills and lowlands, with the heaviest rainfall during June to September, except in the coastal desert. Since settlement of the conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia in 2000, a United Nations peacekeeping mission has been present in the area and the troops have faced a number of medical problems specific to the area. We present an outbreak of 74 cases of an acute blistering skin reaction in a military unit serving in Eritrea. This reaction followed exposure to the secretions of a flying insect that is prevalent in hot tropical areas.