Veterinary and public health importance of mange

Mites are the ectoparasites of humans and animals, their predilection site is skin. Scabies is skin infection caused by mites in humans. They make burrows in the skin and highly pathogenic to health.

Veterinary and public health importance of mange

Also, the major source of transmission of diseases. Mites are distributed among 10 orders with 27 families and infect wide range of domestic animals. Sarcoptic scabiei a sub  macroscopic  burrowing mite which is root cause of epizootic sarcoptic mange.

Present in stratum granulosum of the skin, larval stages are present protonymphs and tritonymphs, so for food they rely on tissue fluids and living cells. A single extremely variable species that manifests physiological characteristics in a variety of distinct hosts is suggested for the mite causing mange in domestic animals.

So, S. scabiei as a species has a strong host specificity and a small cross-inflectional department in morphologically indiscernible varieties. The species are named for the main host species, for example S. scabiei var. Canis, S. scabiei var. suis, etc.

Pathology, Pathogenesis, Immunology & Clinical Signs

The Sarcoptes generally are present at stratum germativium stage, burrow into the skin. The cutting of mouthparts, chelicerae and gnathosoma and cutting hooks on the legs is part of the burrowing. However, little is known about the mite-secreted materials that could promote burrowing and feeding in the digestion of host tissue.

The suggestion and partial justification for the development of a fresh virulent Sarcoptic strain was that epizootics in many domestic animal communities that re-occur in each 30 to 40 years was the main reason. Mechanical interruption and intake of bacteria and tissue fluid from the mites in the skin certainly lead to sarcoptic pathogenesis.

The excretions and secretions can have an irritating and allergic impact on living. A huge quantity of antigenic material, including dead mites, molted skins of adults, immature mites and egg shells, is released into the skin.

Therefore, much of the sarcoptic mange pathogenesis is without doubt a sign of hypersensitivity to the mites. In some domestic pets such as dog and pig, hypersensitivity of both type I and type IV has been shown.

The immunological state of the host is the course of the disease and the concordant clinical signs. This varies in particular whether the host species is immunologically naive or whether it is anergic or can produce a hypersensitive reaction, if it was earlier subjected to the mite.

The lesions consist originally of non-pruritic patches of erythematous Papules that were classified as seborrheic dermatitis, whether or not the host is immunologically affected.

At this stage, mites may not be especially abundant in the skin. After several weeks, the lesions develop intensively pruritic and widespread hyperkeratosis, alopecia, and dermal inflammations when a hypersensitivity reaction ultimately develops in immunologically qualified hosts. During this moment, mites can be separated from the skin in big amounts.

Lastly, the final outcome is a very dysfunctional skin covering much of the animal’s body after many weeks to months. Hairless and often discolored to the shaded gray, the skin is thickened and wrinkled. In these sophisticated lesions, mites are seldom seen. Infected animals health will eventually become listed, dehydrated and deactivated. Most die of infection ultimately.

The naive or immunologically compromised host contains different degrees of alopecia. The lesions of skin are those of a pruritis-free encrusting dermatitis. Dermatitis is widespread and often covers the whole body health. In domestic dogs, the distribution of lesions appears to be slightly distinct.

Elbows, hocks, ventral chest and the pinna margin are both the preferred locations. In addition, untreated animals, including the back which generally is not affected in livestock, can generalize these lesions and alopecia. There is certainly proof that some animals but not others are protective of reinfection.

This seems to be more related to a cell-mediated immune reaction than a humoral reaction, though the latter was shown in several hosts after the disease. As stated above, the pathogenesis and subsequent clinical course of infection health are mainly determined if the host can cause hypersensitivity. Although the specificity of the host differs between distinct strains of S. scabiei, it is usually recognized as a single heterogeneous species.

Cross transmission between certain veterinary hosts with certain strains is feasible. Cross-transmission of certain S strains. between wild and household hosts, scabiei are feasible. It remains to be seen how often this happens and how relevant it is for animal accompaniers and domestic animals. Domestic dogs may get mange from wild canids, particularly during epizootic disease.

Management of Sarcoptic Mange

Mange epizootics usually can operate in stable communities and appear to have no long-standing impact on the wealth of the population. As mentioned above, the mange may also have catastrophic impacts on tiny remnants, genetically impaired populations health, or fragmented populations of endangered or threatened species.

In such instances, it may be necessary to capture and treat individual instances. The whole group or family or fame of social species needs to be handled because if one person is ignored, he or she will re-infect treated people after they have worn down the remaining impacts of ivermectin.

In the continuing restoration program Ivermectin was used to treat individual animals and to create a bundle of mange free animals. Ivermectin, used to successfully treat many distinct household and wild species, is the medicine of choice for sarcoptic mange therapy.

Authors: Nauman Iftikhar1, Rao Zahid Abbas1, Muhammad Tahir1, Muhammad Uzair Asghar1, Muhammad Adeel Arshad2, Shehryaar Shahid3

  1. Department of Parasitology , Animal Nutrition, Livestock Management
    University of Agriculture, Faisalabad- Pakistan

By Nauman Iftikhar

Biology, Parasitology