Oak processionary the same manner. Oak is its preferred food source, but the moth also eats the leaves of hazel, hornbeam, sweet chestnut, birch and beech. The moths pose an increasing threat to humans as their range is extended. The backs of older caterpillars (3rd to 6th instars) are covered with up to 63,000 pointed defensive bristles, which contain an urticating toxin (e.g., the protein thaumetopoein). The setae break off readily, become airborne and can cause epidemic caterpillar dermatitis (lepidopterism), manifested as a papular rash, pruritus, conjunctivitis and, if inhaled, pharyngitis and respiratory distress, including asthma or even anaphylaxis; however, as of
Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health major teaching hospital) and the University of Manitoba's medical school. The City of Winnipeg transferred the title for $1. Construction of the facility that came to be named the Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health (often referred to locally as "the Virology Lab") began with an official groundbreaking in December 1992. The design team, headed by the Winnipeg-based Smith Carter Architects and Engineers Inc., visited laboratories around the world to seek best practices in containment and design. Construction finished toward the end of 1997, with the first programs beginning in the spring of 1998 following an extensive commissioning