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Disturbing Explanation for Mysterious Red Welts Appearing on People After Emergence of Massive Cicada Brood

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The cicada emergence of 2024 is over, but it has left behind an unpleasant souvenir.

This year’s massive brood is being blamed for a spike in bites related to the oak leaf itch mite, Dr. Gene Kritsky of Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinatti, Ohio, said, according to WMAO-TV.

This is not new, he said.

Seventeen years ago after Cicada Brood XIII faded away, “people in Chicago who had oak trees in the yards, started to complain of bites after the cicada emergence,” he said.

“It turned out that the oak itch mite was found in the egg nests of Brood XIII cicadas,” Kritsky said.

“These mites are here all the time, but they have increased their numbers because there have been more food for them,” Carolina Pediatrics & Piedmont Medical Center pediatrician Dr. Carlos Paxtor said, according to WBTV-TV.

Female cicadas leave hundreds of eggs for the mites to feast upon.

Have you noticed more cicadas in your area?

“These tiny spiders that are about less than a quarter of a millimeter — so tiny that it is not perceptible to our normal vision,” Paxtor said.

Avoiding an area of trees will not let you escape, Paxtor said, noting “they can also fly with the air and go in other places.”

“The major problem with this is how we respond to these bites,” Paxtor said. “[When you] start scratching with dirty hands, you can also bring germs inside and cause infections.”

These mites are believed to have come from Europe, and were noticed in the U.S. in 2004 in Kansas, according to USA Today.

Since then, their range is roughly from Illinois to Texas.

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Although almost invisible to the naked eye, the mites are reddish-tan with a shiny exoskeleton, according to the Penn State Extension.


Bites leave behind reddened skin and an itchy rash.

The University of Maryland Extension suggests using anti-itch products unless the symptoms are severe enough to see a doctor.

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Jack Davis is a freelance writer who joined The Western Journal in July 2015 and chronicled the campaign that saw President Donald Trump elected. Since then, he has written extensively for The Western Journal on the Trump administration as well as foreign policy and military issues.
Jack Davis is a freelance writer who joined The Western Journal in July 2015 and chronicled the campaign that saw President Donald Trump elected. Since then, he has written extensively for The Western Journal on the Trump administration as well as foreign policy and military issues.
Jack can be reached at jackwritings1@gmail.com.
Location
New York City
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Politics, Foreign Policy, Military & Defense Issues




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