The role of infrared image in the assessment of early effects of a mosquito bite: a brief report

Eloá Moreira-Marconi, Danielle Soares Morel, Sérgio Oliveira de-Carvalho, Laisa Liane Paineiras-Domingos, Danúbia da Cunha Sá-Caputo, Mario José dos Santos Pereira, Marcia Cristina Moura-Fernandes, José Roberto Machado e Silva, Adérito Seixas, Redha Taiar, Mario Bernardo-Filho

Abstract: Arbovirus transmission is understudied and it is relevant to identify methodologies that can help to better understand its early stages. Infrared thermography (IRT) has been used to study diseases where skin temperature (Tsk) can reflect the presence of inflammation, such as, due to the mosquito bite (MB). The aim of this study was to
register the findings related to the local response in the Tsk due to a bite of arbovirus mosquito in a female adult by IRT. A 35-year-old woman with an erythematous lesion after a MB was evaluated with IRT in two different moments ( at December 27th 2017 and at January 3rd 2018) using a FLIR E40 camera (FLIR Systems, Wilsonville,
OR, USA) and a camera of a Samsung J5 cellphone (Samsung, Brazil) also caught visible image (VI). Four regions of interest (ROI) have been chosen: ROI A - region above the MB on the left leg; ROI B - MB region on the left leg; ROI A' - region opposite to ROI A (right leg) and ROI B' - region opposite to ROI B (right leg). The Tsk increase in
the MB region (ROI B) at first assessment and changes in Tsk gradients at second assessment may reflect the decrease in inflammatory signs. This study suggests the possibility to evaluate the effects of the MB on the underlying tissues by IRT that could be a convenient and easy alternative way to identify suspected areas of
inflammation.

Keywords: Infrared thermography, skin temperature, inflammation.

Series on Biomechanics, Vol.32, No.3 (2018), 47-51

Keywords: inflammation; Infrared thermography; skin temperature

Date published: 2018-12-16