The Jellyfish hunter--Jack Barnes: a pioneer medical toxinologist in Australia.

Dr Jack Handyside Barnes (1922-1985) was one of the small and elite group of Pacific marine toxinologists whose work was characterised by an uncompromising rugged persona, a focussed resolve to solve challenging problems of human clinical envenomation, and who conducted curiosity-driven research under conditions of scientific isolation. He was a pioneering advocate for the preservation of marine heritage, particularly that of the Great Barrier Reef. A former military commando who later became a general medical practitioner with extensive surgical and obstetric skills, in 1947 he was appointed the Medical Superintendent of Thursday Island in the Torres Strait. Later (from January 1953), he worked indefatigably as a general medical practitioner in Cairns, in tropical North Australia. For four decades (1945-1985), Jack Barnes undertook detailed laboratory, clinical and field research into invertebrate envenomation, particularly medusan toxinology. In 1960 he discovered the species responsible for the Irukandji syndrome, a small carybdeid named Carukia barnesi in his honour. He invented the research technique for the extraction of venom from the world's most venomous creature, the Pacific box Jellyfish, Chironex fleckeri. By 1960, he had published taxonomic details of nematocyst structure and clinical envenomation details consequent upon stings by Physalia, Cyanea, Chironex, Chiropsalmus and Carukia. This paper is a précis of the chronology of his life, contributions and influence.     

Hymenoptera ultra-rush venom immunotherapy (210 min): a safety study and risk factors

BACKGROUND: In this study, which summarizes our last 5 years of experience, we evaluated the side-effects of ultra-rush venom immunotherapy and the possibility to define some risk factors for side-effects as age, Hymenoptera venom used for treatment, treatment phase, severity of prior insect sting reaction, concentration of skin test positivity, and level of specific IgE. METHODS: In our protocol on day 1, an initial venom dose of 0.1 microg was followed by 1, 10, 20 microg at 30-min intervals and then 30 and 40 microg at 60-min intervals. Patients who completed this protocol received two booster injections of 50 microg on day 15 and one of 100 microg on day 45. Subsequently, monthly 100 microg boosters were given. RESULTS: Fifty-one children (9.20 +/- 3.41 years) and 207 adults (40.62 +/- 14.00 years) underwent an ultra-rapid venom immunotherapy (ultra-RVIT). Single ultra-RVIT was administered to 195 patients: 69 with honeybee, 123 with yellow jacket and three with wasp venoms. Two venoms were injected into 59 patients: 42 with yellow jacket and wasp, 17 with yellow jacket and honeybee. Four patients received the three venoms. The frequency of immediate systemic reactions (SR) was not significantly different between adults and children: 11.2% vs. 10.8%. SR were experienced more frequently on day 1 (n= 33). They were uncommon on day 15 (n= 2) and on day 45 (n= 1). No late reactions have been observed. Honeybee venom induced significantly more SR (30%) vs. yellow jacket (3.2%) and wasp venom (6.1%). Among the 33 patients who experienced a SR on day 1, 24 had a reaction grade 1 or 2 and nine had a reaction grade 3 or 4. There is a significant risk for patients with a prior reaction grade 3 or 4 to experience a SR during venom immunotherapy (VIT). The strength of positive skin tests and the level of specific IgE were not related to an increased risk of SR (P= NS). CONCLUSION: Treatment with honeybee extract induced more SR than the treatment with yellow jacket and wasp venom. Doses increase phase on day 1 is risk factors for SR of ultra-RVIT, as well as the severity of the prior reaction. Age, degree of positive skin tests, and specific IgE are not risk factors.     

Wasp sting associated with type 1 renal tubular acidosis.

Wasp stings are a common day occurrence in tropical countries.Their venom contains a wide array of amines, peptides and enzymes,consisting of low molecular weight compounds such as serotonin,histamine, acetylcholine and several kinins that mediate directtoxic effects. Enzymes such as hyaluronidase and phospholipasesallow the venom to spread. Generally, these stings cause localreactions that include immediate pain, wheal and flare reaction,which resolve within a few hours. Rarely, these reactions cancause systemic manifestations, organ dysfunction and even death.We describe one such extremely unusual presentation in whicha     

浙江台州地区蜚蠊卵荚寄生蜂的初步研究

作者从浙江东南沿海台州地区室内常见蜚蠊卵荚中发现了拟噬小蜂Tetrastichodes sp.和蜚卵旗蜂Evania appendigaster两种蜚蠊天敌。拟噬小蜂在寄生蜂中占90.38%,能寄生于各种室内常见蜚蠊卵荚,自然寄生率为11.87%,每只卵荚内自然寄生数达70.6只,有望用于防制当地室内常见蜚蠊。卵荚寄生蜂的自然寄生率与蜂种、寄主蠊种和卵荚内自然寄生数等有关。     

The efficacy of Prrrikweg? gel in the treatment of insect bites: a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial

Objective: This study was conducted to examine the efficacy of Prrrikweg^® gel, a homeopathic after-bite gel, in relleving the effects of mosquito bites, in particular itching and erythema. Design: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Setting: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Subjects: 100 healthy volunteers. Methods: All subjects were bitten under laboratory conditions by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes at one spot on the ventral aspect of the left forearm and another on a corresponding position on the right forearm. One spot was treated with the homeopathic after-bite gel and the other with a placebo gel. Main outcome measures: Itching was assessed on a 5-point discrete rating scale at 0, 0.5, 1, 26.5, and 48 h post-bite to compare the itch-relieving efficacy of the two treatments. Erythema development was assessed by photographing the bite sites, measuring length and width of the erythema with at baseline (T₀) to the mean erythema surface at 0.5, 1, 26.5, and 48 h post-bite (T_mean) for the two treatments. Results: Testing erythema development by comparing the ratio T₀/T_{mean, after-bite gel} and the ratio T₀/T_{mean, placebo gel} gave a two-tailed p=0.098 (95% Cl,–0.031–0.361) in favour of the after-bite gel. There was not a statistically significant difference between the itch relief provided by the two treatments (two-tailed p=0.424; 95% Cl,–0.541–0.191). The correlation between itching and erythema was significant (r=0.46; p<0.001). Conclusions: There are strong indications that the homeopathic after-bite gel reduces erythema development following mosquito bites. The homeopathic mother tinctures of Echinacea angustifolia DC., Ledum palustre L, Urtica urens L. as well as the Hamamelis extract in this gel, whether alone or in combination, are the biologically active ingredients. The homeopathic after-bite gel was not demonstrated to relieve itching, however, based on the correlation between erythema and itching, an effect on itching is not inconceivable.     

Structural and biological characterization of two novel peptides from the venom of the neotropical social wasp Agelaia pallipes pallipes.

The venom of the neotropical social wasp Agelaia pallipes pallipes was fractionated by RP-HPLC resulting in the elution of seven fractions; the last two were re-fractionated under RP-HPLC by using isocratic elution conditions and the purity of the fractions were confirmed by using ESI-MS analysis. Both fractions are constituted of peptide components, which were sequenced by Edman degradation chemistry, resulting in the following sequences: Protonectin I-L-G-T-I-L-G-L-L-K-G-L-NH(2). Agelaia-MP I-N-W-L-K-L-G-K-A-I-I-D-A-L-NH(2). Both peptides are manually synthesized on solid-phase and functionally characterized by using Wistar rats cells. Protonectin is a non-hemolytic chemotactic peptide for polymorphonucleated leukocytes (PMNL), presenting some mast cell degranulating activity and potent antimicrobial action both against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Agelaia-MP was characterized as a hemolytic mast cell degranulator toxin, presenting a poor antimicrobial action and no chemotaxis for PMNL.     

IgE antibodies to Hymenoptera venoms in the serum are common in the general population and are related to indications of atopy

Determination of Hymenoptera venom (HV)-specific serum IgE antibodies is a useful diagnostic method in patients with systemic anaphylactic reaction (SAR) to Hymenoptera stings. In a general population cohort, we determined the prevalence of SAR and HV-specific IgE antibodies and assessed parameters associated with the latter. A total of 277 voluntarily participating inhabitants of rural Bavaria (Germany) (232 adults, mean age 38.0 years; 45 children, mean age 8.4 years) were investigated for a history of atopic disease or SAR to insect stings; in 258 of these, total IgE and specific IgE antibodies to HV ( Apis mellifera, Vespula vulgaris/germanica ) and four common aeroallergens (birch pollen, grass pollen, house-dust mite, and cat dander) in the serum were determined. Nine (3.3%) subjects reported SAR to insect stings. In 27.1% of the sera, specific IgE antibodies to HV were found, to bee venom in 24.8%, and to wasp venom in 8.5% ( P <0.0001). Of those exhibiting HV-specific IgE, 7.1% reported SAR to insect stings. A personal history of atopic disease (hay fever, asthma, or atopic eczema) was present in 16.7%, specific IgE to common aeroallergens was found in 32.6%, and total IgE> 100 kU/1 was found in 22.5%. Specific serum IgE to HV was significantly associated with male sex (female vs. male, OR = 0.47; CI 0.25–0.86), young age (children vs. adults, OR = 2.80; CI 1.25–6.28), a history of SAR to insect stings (OR = 4.16; CI 1.15–15.03), total slgE>100kU/l (OR = 3.88; CI 1.98–7.60), and specific IgE antibodies to three of the four aeroallergens (grass pollen, OR = 7.24 CI 3.66–14.38; birch pollen, OR = 3.67 CI 1.54–8.81; and house-dust mite, OR = 4.61 CI 2.08–10.32). It is concluded that immunologic sensitization to HV is common in the general population and is associated with atopy-related humoral IgE hyperresponsiveness.     

Africanized Honey Bees and Agromedicine

Worldwide, honey bees are integral to agriculture because they are the most plentiful and often the most efficient pollinators of crops. Maintaining commercial populations of pollinating honey bees is vital to US agriculture. However, beekeeping is beset with many problems, including those arising from accidental importation of parasitic mites and the notorious Africanized honey bees (AHB). AHB build large populations and feral colonies, tend to invade commercial bee hives, and are highly sting-prone. Because of their tendency to sting, Africanized honey bees bring agromedical concerns. Education on avoiding stings and proactive medical planning for sting sensitive persons are appropriate responses to Africanized honey bees. Agricultural research has provided solutions to mitigate Africanization problems for beekeeping. These recommendations include management procedures that encourage the hybridization of feral populations of honey bees to help reduce stinging incidents.