Abstract
We investigated the number of patients with caterpillar dermatitis in Itami City Hospital from 1993 to 2003. The result showed that the largest number of patients (95) sought medical advice in 2003, 46 patients in 1993, 34 patients in 1994 and under 25 patients in the other years. The analysis of patients in 2003 showed that the male-female ratio was 49 : 46 and that children under 9 years old and middle-aged to older patients over 50 years old were relatively numerous in the age distribution. The most affected site in those patients was the upper extremities.
Many patients came to the hospital in June, and August to September. This indicates that the cause of caterpillar dermatitis may be possibly Euproctis pseudoconspersa because that caterpillar appears twice in a year, from May to June and August to September. The data of mean temperature and precipitation reported at a weather station near Itami (in Kobe) showed cold and rainy summers in 1993 and 2003.
These results suggest that weather conditions may affect the outbreak of caterpillars and the number of patients with caterpillar dermatitis.
