Human exposure to larvae of processionary moths in France: study of symptomatic cases registered by the French poison control centres between 2012 and 2019

Pauline Vasseur (1) , Sandra Sinno-Tellier (2) , Jérôme Rousselet (3) , Jérôme Langrand (4) , Alain Roques (3) , Juliette Bloch (2) , Magali Labadie (5)

1 INSERM - Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale
2 DAVS - Direction des alertes et des vigilances sanitaires
3 URZF - Unité de recherche Zoologie Forestière
4 CAPTV Paris - Centre antipoison et de toxicovigilance (Paris)
5 CHU Bordeaux [Bordeaux]

Contact with the setae of larvae (caterpillars) of pine or oak processionary moths could induce urticarial or allergic reactions in humans. These species are present in France and presently expanding towards highly populated areas due to climate change and/or human-mediated translocations. We aimed to describe the symptomatic cases of exposure to processionary larvae in France.

Keywords: Processionary caterpillar; envenomation; poison control centres; toxicovigilance

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]

Pauline Vasseur, Sandra Sinno-Tellier, Jérôme Rousselet, Jérôme Langrand, Alain Roques, et al.. Human exposure to larvae of processionary moths in France: study of symptomatic cases registered by the French poison control centres between 2012 and 2019. Clinical Toxicology, 2022, 60 (2), pp.231-238. ⟨10.1080/15563650.2021.1919694⟩. ⟨anses-03324474⟩