Details

Date1150
AuthorAvenzoar
ContributionWrote a description of the itch mite.
ReferenceCampillo
NotesThe date is approximate. See M. Cordera del Campillo, M., Vet. Parasitol. 33: 93-116, 1989. Abu-Marwun-Abd Al-Malik Ibn Abi Al-Ala-Zuhr, known in the West as Avenzoar, described what would become known as Sarcoptes scabiei. He pointed out that it is on the threshold of human visibility, but could be extracted by needle from the skin tunnels in which it lives. As in the case of Bonomo (q.v.) this is important in the context of the Germ Theory Timeline, because the cause of itch was clear, but the mite can hardly be considered a germ -- and even the very good accounts that were written did not contribute to the debate that was to rage over the germ theory of disease. For this reason, few entries on arthropod parasites are included, and no special Pathogen Class has been created for them.
CategoryMiscellany
Pathogen ClassGeneral

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