The chigoe flea (Tunga penetrans; also known as Sarcopsylla penetrans or Pulex penetrans) is a parasiticarthropod found in tropical climates, especially South America and the West Indies. The breeding females of this insect burrow into exposed skin and lay eggs, causing strong irritation and itching in a disease called tungiasis. If left inside the skin this may lead to infection or other dangerous complications. A parasite is an organism that lives in or on the living tissue of a host organism at the expense of that host. ... Subphyla and Classes Subphylum Trilobitomorpha Trilobita - Trilobites (extinct) Subphylum Chelicerata Arachnida - Spiders, Scorpions, etc. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... The Caribbean or the West Indies is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. ... Classes & Orders Subclass: Apterygota Orders Archaeognatha (Bristletails) Thysanura (Silverfish) Monura - extinct Subclass: Pterygota Orders Ephemeroptera (mayflies) Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) Diaphanopteroidea - extinct Palaeodictyoptera - extinct Megasecoptera - extinct Archodonata - extinct Infraclass: Neoptera Orders Blattodea (cockroaches) Isoptera (termites) Mantodea (mantids) Dermaptera (earwigs) Plecoptera (stoneflies) Orthoptera (grasshoppers, etc) Phasmatodea (walking sticks) Embioptera (webspinners) Zoraptera... Tungiasis is a skin infestation of the flea Tunga penetrans (also known as chigoe flea, jigger or sand flea), commonly found in the tropical parts of Africa, Caribbean, Central and South America, and India. ...
The chigoe is sometimes called a chigger, a term also used for the harvest mite in North America. The term chigger (or jigger) can refer to either of two distinct parasitic arthropods with similar behaviors. ... Binomial name Trombicula alfreddugesi Harvest mites (Trombicula alfreddugesi; also known as the Red bug, Trombiculid mite or Scrub-itch mite) are mites in the family Trombiculidae that live in berry patches, tall grass and weeds, woodland edges, pine straw, leaves, and treebark. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is a continent in the northern hemisphere, bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west...
The chigoeflea (Tunga penetrans; also known as Sarcopsylla penetrans or Pulex penetrans) is a parasiticarthropod found in tropical climates, especially South America and the West Indies.
The chigoe is sometimes called a "chigger," a term also used for the harvest mite in North America.
According to sources, the flea was introduced into Africa in 1873 by the ship Thomas Mitchell.
Tungiasis is a skin infestation of the Tunga penetrans flea (also known as chigoeflea, jigger, nigua or sand flea), found in the tropical parts of Africa, Caribbean, Central and South America, and India.
This orifice allows the chigoeflea to breathe while feeding on blood vessels in the cutaneous and subcutaneous dermal layer.
Preventing infection by chigoeflea is easily achieved by wearing shoes when traveling in endemic regions and spraying insecticides on infested soil.
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