Staphylinid (rove) beetle dermatitis outbreak in the American Southwest?

An outbreak of a blistering disease was reported in a military unit trainin g in the Arizona desert during heavy rain and flooding, In a unit of 249 pe rsonnel, 33 presented with dermatologic complaints, and 4 met stringent dia gnostic criteria for dermatitis linearis, A fifth patient presented with sy mptoms and signs of "Nairobi eye." Staphylinid (rove) beetles related to th e paederids, which have been responsible for vesicular dermatitis outbreaks in other parts of the world but not previously in the United States, were collected at the site. Reports in the antique scientific literature documen t paederids in the area after periodic floods. These findings suggest that rove beetle dermatitis should be added to the differential diagnosis of ves icular dermatitis in western North America.