Background: Human Dust Mite are classified as invertebrates, as they do not have an internal skeleton. Most often they are found in habitats intimately associated with man, such as beds, bed linen, couches, sofas, other upholstery furniture's, clothing, curtains, window stills, floors and carpets. These domestic environments are very important locations for forensic investigations, but this richness of mite diversity has not been exploited by forensic investigators. This study aimed to to determine the prevalence of Carpet mites, isolate and identify the different species in Gaza.
Methods: A total of 200 dust samples; vacuums machine (98 samples) and manual cleaning (102 samples) were collected in cups from house to house. After that, the cups were transported to the parasitology laboratory. Each dust sample was sieved, sedimented, and examined under microscope for morphological classification. Results: Dermatophagoides sp, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, and other types were isolated. It was found that mites were more prevalent in carpets with more than 1 cm thickness (60%) compared to carpets with thickness less than 1 cm. It was found that mites were more prevalent in carpets age 0f 2-4 years (72.6%) compared to other age periods.
Conclusions: It was found that house dust mites is prevalent in Gaza. Different types of mites were isolated in the present study. A strong association was found between presences of mites and complains of medical symptoms.
