itch mite questions answered

Illinois Department of Public Health created this web page of questions and answers about mites that are now considered the most likely cause of a local outbreak of rashes.

How will I know if I have been bitten?

You may develop red welts that look like chigger bites on your neck, face, arms and upper body. These bites are not usually on legs where chigger bites may be found. The itch mite welts form into a pimple-like lesion after about 12 hours. The bites are very itchy and can be present for up to two weeks.

This is pretty much exactly my experience. The welts have one or two pimple-like things near the center. I was bitten on my arm (crux of elbow) and abdomen (an inch or two about the waistline).

BTW, wikipedia has an entry for Pyemotes herfsi, also known as the oak leaf gall mite or itch mite.

Remember, it still hasn't been confirmed that oak leaf fall mites are the cause of these rashes. It's not obvious why these mites would hit humans so hard this year when they haven't done it before. The mites feed on insect larvae and don't derive any benefit from biting people.

have you gotten a rash lately?

Chicago Tribune (James Janega) has a story on the possibility that the outbreak of skin rashes may be caused by mites.

Since I was personally affected by this, it meets my definition of news. It affects me.

Knowing the specific species of mite is only a partial solution. One has to apply this knowledge in a way that alleviates the rashes and prevents the parasites from attaching themselves to new hosts.

That's if the problem is caused by mites. The August 17 article promises the mites will quickly be ID'd once in the hands of the expert in Nebraska.

"As soon as we get it, we'll try to identify them," said the specialist, James Kalisch, an entomologist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln who co-wrote a study on a form of Pyemotes mite blamed for a 2004 rash outbreak in Kansas and Nebraska.

Once received, identification would take "not long at all," he said. The samples were expected to arrive in Nebraska Friday, Kalisch said.

A Google news search did not show any newer articles with "Chicago" and "mite" in them.