Bill Harvey: The Mighty Wah

I remember, with some degree of horror, being handed a rubber model of a Demodex folliculorum, which, being several hundred times larger than the real thing, made it yet more shocking when I was told that it was more than likely that I had lots of these living in my face.

Humans can carry two follicular mite species: Demodex folliculorum, which live in groups in the infundibular portion of hair follicles, and Demodex brevis, which is a solitary species inhabiting the sebaceous glands of the skin. The mites are most numerous in the wings of the nose, on the forehead, in the ear canal, and (rather startlingly) on the nipples. Indeed, mite transmission is thought to involve transfer during breastfeeding. Hence, a prevalence of 90%, comparable with that of Herpes simplex virus, which is transferred by well-meaning but cold-sore carrying relatives.