Pruritic dermatitis on an oil tanker after a visit to French Guyana.

A 40-year-old seaman presented to our emergency department with a severe pruritic skin reaction on his limbs and neck after visiting French Guyana on an oil tanker. Twenty crewmembers had had the same complaints. The harbor in French Guyana had been devastated by an invasion of Hylesia metabus, a moth that can cause a serious dermatitis due to contact with the hairs (setae) of the female moth. Complaints due to contact with caterpillars, butterflies, or moths is called lepidopterism. The complaints are self-limiting, and treatment is symptomatic. Due to the increasing amount of travelers and the normally harmless character of butterflies and moths, we would like to heighten the awareness of this relatively unknown condition.