Paederus dermatitis.

days to larvae and adults. Paederus beetles are beneficial to agriculture because they eat crop pests. Paederus dermatitis, also known as dermatitis linearis1 or blister beetle dermatitis2 is a peculiar irritant contact The species commonly causing Paederus dermatitis are Paederus dermatitis characterized by erythematous and bullous lesions melampus in India, Paederus brasilensis in South America, of sudden onset on exposed areas of the body. The disease is commonly known as podo, Paederus colombius in Venezuela, provoked by an insect belonging to the genus Paederus. This Paederus fusipes in Taiwan and Paederus peregrinus in Indonesia. beetle does not bite or sting, but accidental brushing against or crushing the beetle over the skin provokes the release of its Paederus are nocturnal and attracted by incandescent and coelomic fluid which contains paederin, a potent vesicant. fluorescent lights and as a result, inadvertently come into contact with humans. Hemolymph of the beetle contains paederine ETIOPATHOGENESIS (latigaza) [14] which is released on crushing of the insect onto the skin due to the reflex of brushing away the insect. Paederin The genus Paederus belongs to family Staphyllinidae, order (C25 H 45 O 9N) is an amide with two tetrahydropyran rings and makes Coleoptae, class Insecta and consists of over 622 species which up approximately 0.025% of an insect’s weight (for P. fusipes). are distributed worldwide. Paederus beetles have been associated with outbreaks of dermatitis in various countries Recently, it has been demonstrated that the production of including Australia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Kenya, paederin relies on the activities of an endosymbiont (Pseudomonas Iran, Central Africa, Uganda, Okinawa, Sierra Leone, [9] species) within Paederus. The manufacture of paederin is largely Argentina, Brazil, France, Venezuela, Ecuador and India. confined to adult female beetles. Larvae and males only store paederin acquired maternally (i.e., through eggs) or by Adults of these beetles are usually 7-10 mm long and 0.5 mm ingestion. [15] It is a vesicant and blocks mitosis at levels as low as wide, having the size around one and half times that of a 1 ng/ml apparently by inhibiting protein and DNA synthesis INTRODUCTION