Which arthropods could have survived COVID-19 lockdown? A narrative review and an algorithm for indoor epizoonoses at the reopening of the military training centers

Epizoonoses are dermatitis provoked by the temporary or permanent presence of ectoparasites on human skin; they can occur indoor, especially in buildings uninhabited for a long time. In Italy, during the COVID­19 pandemic, the military training has been temporarily unprioritized and some training centers and their dormitories have been emptied and closed. In their quarters, while humans were absent, some tiny animals thrived undisturbed: among them, some arthropods are now devious causative agents for indoor epizoonoses in the trainees. A systematic search was conducted on MEDLINE (PubMed) from inception to July 2022 using as keywords “military” and the arthropods most frequently responsible for indoor ectoparasitoses. Published articles with an English version available were included. The search strategy with “military” and “Cimex lectularius”/“Bed bug” as keywords retrieved only 3 pertinent articles. We developed an algorithm to quickly identify the most probable agent causing an indoor epizoonosis in the military considering service members’ anamnestic and clinical data. A rapid identification of the pathogen agent is crucial in the war against these dermatological problems.