Ornithonyssus bacoti

Ornithonyssus bacoti bacoti is a hematophagous parasite commonly referred to as the tropical rat mite. They feed only on blood and serum from many hosts. They can be found and cause disease on rats and wild rodents most commonly, but also small mammals and humans when other hosts are scarce. Outbreaks tend to occur in older, less maintained buildings. The mite however can travel several hundred feet on its own if necessary to find a host and can survive for extended periods of time without a host. This along with the nonspecific dermatitis it causes can prevent accurate and fast diagnosis of rat mite dermatitis. The scarcity of reports, due in part to misdiagnosis and also the mildness of its symptoms, makes the disease seem less common than it is. The tropical rat mite can be found in both temperate and tropical regions or rather all continents except the arctic and Antarctic.