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Images in clinical practice
Blister beetle exposure in UK service personnel
  1. Philip Lucas1,2
  1. 1 Department of Primary Healthcare, RAF Odiham, Hook, United Kingdom
  2. 2 Royal Air Force Centre of Aviation Medicine, Henlow, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Philip Lucas, Royal Air Force Centre of Aviation Medicine, Henlow SG16 6DN, UK; pl453015@gmail.com

https://doi.org/10.1136/jramc-2019-001321

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    In 2018, UK service personnel were stationed in Gao, Eastern Mali, in support of French forces. Endemic to the area is the blister beetle, of the Meloidae family, which multiplies over the rainy season, where for a brief time they prove problematic. They are most active in the evening when they fly, often landing on an individual’s back. They then walk upwards until they contact the neck, where the majority of lesions are experienced (Figures 1 and 2). These lesions were frequently found the following morning, where affected individuals experience a burning sensation, not realising they were exposed the evening before.

    Figure 1

    A Meloidae-caused blister the …

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors The author is the sole contributor to this paper.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient consent for publication Not required.

    • Ethics approval Study approval has been gained for this paper. Form CC1 is uploaded and the DMS reference is CC1-20190150.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.