The present paper reports the first survey of house dust mites of Panama. Samples of house dust from bedroom floors of 20 houses located in urban and rural areas of La Chorrera, Panama, were examined for the presence of mites. Mites were present in all samples. A total of 9150 mites were isolated and identified as belonging to 21 families, 24 genera and 29 species. We found an average mite density of 1.23 mites/mg dust. Blomia tropicalis (Echimyopodidae) occurred in all the samples examined. All the astigmatid mites we found in urban house dust have been recognized previously as sources of allergens that cause respiratory diseases, but only 71.4 percent of those found in rural areas are known to be allergenic. We present the first record of Glycycometus malaysiensis (Fain & Nadchatram) (Aeroglyphidae) new combination (transferred from Austroglycyphagus) in Panama and the Neotropical region.
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1 July 2002
House dust mites from urban and rural houses on the lowland Pacific slopes of Panama
Roberto J. Miranda,
Quintero A. Diomedes,
Alejandro Almanza
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Systematic and Applied Acarology
Vol. 7 • No. 1
July 2002
Vol. 7 • No. 1
July 2002
Blomia tropicalis
house dust mites
Panama Pacific lowland