Caroline and Tweets,

Probably swimmers itch.

For good info on this condition see:

http://bugs.uah.ualberta.ca/hlthprom/swmitch.htm

The only danger with this condition is the possibility of secondary
bacterial infection. Something else to consider however, is that waters
that host this particular parasite are also ripe to host e. coli and
other fecal feeding bacteria which can have much more dramatic effects
on the human body. Witness the Health Department closing of Juanita
Beach and Beaver Lake recently for similar conditions. Warm water and
duck poop make prime conditions for a nasty bacterial soup. It might be
worth having the HD test your swimming site Caroline - may cause
inconvenience with a closure, but could save a good bit of pain and
suffering if conditions truly are dangerous.

Good Birding.

Rob Conway
Bellevue, WA

robin_conway at hotmail.com

>Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 09:38:36 -0700
>Reply-To: cfeiss at halcyon.com
>From: "Caroline Feiss" <cfeiss at halcyon.com>
>To: "tweeters" <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
>Subject: Duck Mites
>
>Calling all aquatic bird experts.
>
>This past weekend at Lake Chelan we were all hit, to varying degrees,
by
>what locals call duck mites. The result was an array of itchy, red
bumps
>and welts. The number of bites seemed to be directly proportional to
the
>amount of time people stayed in the water. The kids who swam from
morning
>to night and would have swum all night, given the chance, were covered,
head
>to toe. More sedintary adults were affected to a lesser degree. While
we
>have had this problem later in the summer (around Labor day), my theory
is
>that the El Nino warming brought the plague to us a month earlier. The
lake
>was a good 5 degrees warmer than usual.
>
>Does anyone have any ideas about whether this is duck mites? Any ways
to
>avoid the bites (short of staying on dry land which is not an option
when
>the temp hits 100 or so)? Shooing the ducks away is a short term fix
since
>they swim along the shore looking for handouts from dawn to dusk. (We
do
>not feed them and try to keep them out of our swimming area.) Thanks
for
>the help.
>
>Caroline Feiss
>Seattle
>
>


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