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There are many records of the family Sarcoptidae in bats. The species Notoedres (Notoedres) yunkeri has been reported only once, parasitizing a molossid bat in Panama. In the present study, we expand the occurrence of the species to Brazil.

Some pathogens sustain transmission in multiple different host species, but how this epidemiologically important feat is achieved remains enigmatic. Sarcoptes scabiei is among the most host generalist and successful of mammalian parasites. We synthesize pathogen and host traits that mediate sustained transmission and present cases illustrating three transmission mechanisms (direct, indirect, and combined). The pathogen traits that explain the success of S. scabiei include immune response modulation, on-host movement capacity, off-host seeking behaviors, and environmental persistence. Sociality and host density appear to be key for hosts in which direct transmission dominates, whereas in solitary hosts, the use of shared environments is important for indirect transmission. In social den-using species, combined direct and indirect transmission appears likely. Empirical research rarely considers the mechanisms enabling S. scabiei to become endemic in host species—more often focusing on outbreaks. Our review may illuminate parasites’ adaptation strategies to sustain transmission through varied mechanisms across host species.

Sarcoptes scabiei (Acari: Sarcoptidae) is a globally distributed parasitic mite species, which causes mange in a broad spectrum of domestic and wild mammals. In the present study, we report a case of chronic S. scabiei infestation in a captive lowland tapir ( Tapirus terrestris ) held in a multi-species exhibit at Vienna Zoo. The adult male showed clinically manifested mange flare-ups three times at an interval of up to 12 months, diagnosed by positive deep-skin scrapings and successfully treated by oral applications of ivermectin (0.1–0.2 mg/kg body weight) and washings with antimicrobial solutions. Clinical symptoms including pruritus, alopecia, erythema, crusts, and superficial bleedings were limited to the axillar and pectoral region, as well as distal limbs. The affected tapir died from underlying bacterial pneumonia during general anesthesia. Skin scrapings, necropsy, and histopathological analysis of mite material (eggs, larvae, and adults) permitted further morphological and molecular identification. The morphological features described here matched the characteristics for the species S. scabiei and molecular data verified morphological identification. Cross-species transmission plays a key role in the expansion of this neglected emerging panzootic disease and urban wildlife could potentially bridge the gap between free-ranging wildlife reservoirs and zoo animals. However, further examinations are needed to detect the primary source of infestation and discover transmission pathways within the zoo.

Anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) are increasingly recognized as a threat to nontarget wildlife. High exposure to ARs has been documented globally in nontarget predatory species and linked to the high prevalence of an ectoparasitic disease, notoedric mange. In southern California, mange associated with AR exposure has been the proximate cause of a bobcat (Lynx rufus) population decline. We measured AR exposure in bobcats from two areas in southern California, examining seasonal, demographic and spatial risk factors across landscapes including natural and urbanized areas. The long-term study included bobcats sampled over a 16-year period (1997–2012) and a wide geographic area. We sampled blood (N = 206) and liver (N = 172) to examine exposure ante- and post-mortem. We detected high exposure prevalence (89 %, liver; 39 %, blood) and for individuals with paired liver and blood data (N = 64), 92 % were exposed. Moreover, the animals with the most complete sampling were exposed most frequently to three or more compounds. Toxicant exposure was associated with commercial, residential, and agricultural development. Bobcats of both sexes and age classes were found to be at high risk of exposure, and we documented fetal transfer of multiple ARs. We found a strong association between certain levels of exposure (ppm), and between multiple AR exposure events, and notoedric mange. AR exposure was prevalent throughout both regions sampled and throughout the 16-year time period in the long-term study. ARs pose a substantial threat to bobcats, and likely other mammalian and avian predators, living at the urban-wildland interface.

Chorioptic mange is the most common type of bovine mange in central Europe, affecting mainly housed dairy cattle. Until 1976, when Chorioptes texanus were described for the first time from mangy cattle in Brazil, bovine chorioptic mange was thought to be caused only by C. bovis mites. In Europe, C. texanus parasitism in cattle was for the first time reported in Germany in 1998. Following the repeated diagnosis of C. texanus mites in skin scrapings from local cattle in recent years, scrapings from cattle that were clinically suspicious for chorioptic mange were requested and provided during the years from 2019 to 2022 from Austria, France, Germany, and Switzerland (from 6, 17, 28, and 7 farms, respectively) and from dairy cows of 1 farm in Canada. Mites were isolated from the scrapings, cleared, and microscopically identified based on their morphology. Examination of scrapings revealed the presence of C. texanus in the cattle from 2 farms in Austria, 13 farms in France, 7 farms in Germany, 1 farm in Switzerland, and in the specimens from Canada. Chorioptes bovis mites were recovered only in scrapings from 5 farms in Germany and Psoroptes ovis mites in scrapings of cattle from 2 farms in France. The scrapings did not reveal co-infestations of C. bovis and C. texanus or of Chorioptes species and P. ovis. The records of C. texanus from Austria, France, Switzerland, and Canada constitute the first descriptions of this mite species in these countries. Although this investigation was based on an opportunistic collection of the material and was of small extent, the results suggest a widespread occurrence of C. texanus in central Europe and may emphasize the need for studies to closely investigate the nature of the causative agents of chorioptic mange in cattle and other hosts.

Mange in sheep is still results in serious economic problems the most one is losses of hid and wool. This requires not only treatment of primary disease but also rapid repairing of skin and wool. The most effective trace element helps the regeneration of skin and wool is zinc. The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of nano−zinc supplementation in reducing the time required to recovery and complete skin repair and wool regrowth during treatment of Psoroptic mange in sheep. Forty male Rahmani sheep were divided into four groups each one contained ten sheep. The first group was clinically healthy (CH) and the other three groups were clinically suffered from mange and divided according to treatment into nano-zinc (NZ) group which received doramectin injection plus nano-zinc orally, mineral mixture (MM) group which received doramectin injection plus mineral mixture orally, and DM group which injected by doramectin only. All animals were subjected to keen clinical and confirmative examination and criteria of recovery were routinely assessed day after day. Assessment of skin and wool repair as well as the serum samples were collected for analyses before treatment; at 0 day then at 15th and 30th days after treatment. The clinical examination revealed gradual recovery of clinical signs, and 3 days after treatment the signs of pruritis decreased and disappeared after 1 week. The lesions reduced in size toward the center with regrowth of wool from repaired peripheries of lesions. The assessment of skin and wool repair and biochemical constituents revealed rapid repaired lesions at the 15th day of treatment in NZ group, while MM and DM groups started to be recovered at the 30th day of treatment. Serum biochemical analyses revealed significant decrease in serum zinc, hyperproteinemia, hypoalbuminemia, and hyperglobulinemia and significantly decreased of ALP, AST, γ-GT, and LDH activities with significantly increased serum creatinine in NZ, MM, and DM groups before treatment. Most of these serum changes showed non-significant changes at the 15th day of treatment in NZ group compared to CH group. However, MM group began to improve after 15th day of treatment and in some parameters extended to the 30th day of treatment, while DM group restored majority of estimated parameters at the 30th day of treatment when compared to CH group. In conclusion, nano-zinc supplementation during treatment of Psoroptic mange in sheep provides more effective and rapid regeneration and repair of skin tissues and wool rather than doramectin injection alone or with zinc oxide supplementation.

Ovine psoroptic mange (sheep scab) is an infection of substantial economic and animal welfare concern in the UK. Its prevalence has increased rapidly over the last 20 years and management is dependent on a small number of acaricidal compounds, many of which are also used to control a range of other endoparasites and ectoparasites. Here, the effects of the macrocyclic lactone (ML) moxidectin was considered using in vitro assays against mites from four farm populations where persistent treatment failure had been reported: two in West Wales, one from the England/Wales border and one in Herefordshire. The data demonstrate resistance in mites from all four farms. This is the first quantitative evidence of ML resistance in Psoroptes mites in the UK. Given the similarities in their mode of action it is highly likely that cross-resistance across the range of this class of compound will be found. The development of resistance to moxidectin is of considerable concern given the already high prevalence of scab infection in some regions; major difficulties in scab management should be anticipated if ML resistance becomes widely established in the UK.

1. Emerging and invasive pathogens can have long-lasting impacts on susceptible wildlife populations, including localized collapse and extirpation. Management of threatening disease is of widespread interest and requires knowledge of spatiotemporal patterns of pathogen spread. 2. Theory suggests disease spread often occurs via two patterns: homogenous mixing and travelling waves. However, high-resolution empirical data demonstrating localized (within population) disease spread patterns are rare. 3. This study examined the spread of sarcoptic mange (aetiological agent Sarcoptes scabiei) in a population of bare-nosed wombats (Vombatus ursinus), and investigated whether pathogen spread occurred by homogenous mixing or a travelling wave. 4. Using 7 years of population surveys and 4 years of disease severity surveys, we show that mange was first detected in the east of a wombat population in northern Tasmania, and progressed westward as a travelling wave. Wombat mortality rates reached 100% behind the wave, with a 94% decline in overall wombat abundance within the park. 5. Synthesis and applications. Globally distributed pathogens may have severe impacts on susceptible host species. This is the first study to quantify population-level impacts of sarcoptic mange upon bare-nosed wombats, showing a wave of mange disease which resulted in a dramatic population decline. Successful management of the spread of this and similar pathogens may hinge on the capacity to establish transmission barriers at local or between-population scales.

The acaricidal activity of Azadirachta indica (neem) aqueous fruit extracts was evaluated against Sarcoptes scabiei var. suis (mange mites) in an on-farm trial using grower pigs. Aqueous neem fruit extracts of three concentrations 5%, 10%, and 25% w/v and a commercial acaricide, 12.5% amitraz-based Triatix spray (positive control), were compared with pigs that received no treatment (negative control). Thirty grower pigs of the Dalland breed were allocated to the five treatments in a completely randomized experiment. Each experimental animal was sprayed on day 0 and again on day 7. Counts of mange mites, scoring of lesion index, and calculation of rubbing index were done weekly. Topical application of 25% aqueous neem fruit extract had a higher efficacy ratio (p < 0.05) than the other fruit extract concentrations, and performed similarly to an amitraz-based acaricide, suggesting a dose-dependent response. Amitraz (positive control) cured clinical mange on grower pigs after 5 weeks and 25% aqueous neem fruit extract 6 weeks post-treatment. The results indicated that aqueous neem fruit extracts have acaricidal effects against mange mites and can provide a cheaper, safer, and more eco-friendly alternative for the control of Sarcoptes mange in pigs.