Investigation of Demodex Spp. prevalence among managers and workers of health hazard bearing and sanitary establishment

Abstract

Background/Purpose: Two Demodex species are known to live on people. Demodex folliculorum lives in the openings of hair follicles alone or in groups. D brevis lives in the depths of the sebaceous glands alone. There are different related on the epidemiology of Demodex species have been published. Method: In this study, taking into account that the parasite is transmitted through close contact from person to person, we aimed to evaluate the relation between the presence of Demodex spp with gender and age among the Health hazard bearing and sanitary establishment operators and workers who came for porter examination. Results: For this purpose, 862 male and 215 female patients with a total of 1077 volunteers from the face area of the standard superficial skin biopsy (SSSB) method and studied samples were taken. More than five mites in 1 cm(2) density was defined as positive. In investigated samples 37.3% Demodex spp. positivity was detected. Only two were found to be D brevis and the others were D folliculorum. The study revealed statistically significant relationships between the positivity of parasites with the occupational group, age and sex. Conclusion: Since the prevalence of Demodex among healthy individuals without any complaint was found to be 37%, we believe Demodex spp should be investigated in porter examinations of people who have dermatological complaints. Copyright (C) 2012, Elsevier Taiwan LLC & Formosan Medical Association. All rights reserved.