New synanthropic springtail, Drepanura pallens Rusek, 1981 (Arthropoda: Collembola; Entomobryidae), infestation from Shiraz, south Iran

Background: The class Collembola, or springtail, is one of the most important and prolific arthropod groups in the soil due to its role in ecological decomposition pattern. They have a pair of antennae, but no wings. Furthermore, most species have a pair of sickle-shaped furcula on their posterior part of abdomen, which enables them to jump. Up to now, there has been scant attention to its biomedical importance both at the regional and worldwide levels. Exposure to infestation with synanthropic hexapods is high among women. Women’s health is at the forefront of community medicine.Objectives: To identify a new species of collembola infestation on human in south Iran.Materials and methods: The female urogenital and rectal organs’ infestation with Collembola is, however, a neglected problem that has involved four middle-aged married women in Shiraz for the last five years. These patients are helpless with clinical exams, medical treatments and ineffective self-treatments adopted voluntarily. They are still not free from these parasites. The patients willingly provided the specimens during bath. Nesbit solution fixed the latter. After clearance, the specimens mounted in Hoyer’s liquid on microscopic slides for exams.Results: The patients visited a gynecologist and an internist without any clear diagnosis, with the impression of delusory parasitism. In some cases, prescribed anti-parasitic drugs (such as albendazole and ivermectin) had no effects. The identification of specimens to species level in entomology lab emerged as Drepanura pallens Rusek, 1981 (Collembola: Entomobryidae).Conclusion: It leads to the conclusion that under certain circumstances the cryptic behavior of some soil-dwelling tiny invertebrates like Collembola can culminate in problematical clinical cases provided there is sufficient spatiotemporal overlap between these hexapods and people

Keywords:

Springtail , Female infestation , Collembola , Drepanura , Iran