Outbreaks of sarcoptic mange in free‐ranging koala populations in Victoria and South Australia: a case series

Abstract

We present the first reported cases of sarcoptic mange outbreaks in free-ranging koalas.

Necropsy findings of koalas from the Mount Lofty Ranges population in South Australia

“…Mange may have been transferred from canids (wild or domestic), as is thought to occur in wombats . The spatial distribution and histopathological findings in SA and Victorian koalas affected by sarcoptic mange outbreaks have recently been reported …”

“…Koalas in South Australia (SA) were originally introduced from Victoria, in a series of translocations of low numbers of individuals from French Island, Victoria, to Kangaroo Island, SA, in 1923 and then to the Mount Lofty Ranges, SA, in the 1960s . In contrast to koala populations in the eastern states, the health threats to SA koalas are little known, with a limited number of studies describing oxalate nephrosis, low genetic diversity, chlamydiosis and sarcoptic mange . In addition, determining the health status of SA koala populations has been identified as a key objective in the recently published South Australian Koala Conservation and Management Strategy .…”

Population‐scale treatment informs solutions for control of environmentally transmitted wildlife disease

“…In contrast, control efforts in host systems without a plausible environmental transmission route, such as the gregarious Spanish ibex, may be best directed towards establishing widespread host resistance.Additional complexities can also occur when other hosts contribute to transmission (e.g. canids acting as reservoirs which spread mange to other marsupials on the Australian mainland;Speight et al, 2017), and research examining how multi-host dynamics can be accommodated into S. scabiei disease control programmes would be valuable.Our research fills knowledge gaps in wildlife disease management, specifically the importance of effective treatment delivery and drug viability, and bridges disease theory with practice. Furthermore, our results may have broad implications for other wildlife diseases with environmental transmission, including conservation-critical diseases such as white-nose syndrome and chytridiomycosis.…”

In this issue – July 2017

“…5 Sarcoptic mange is endemic in the common wombat populations but there are few reports in koalas. 5 Sarcoptic mange is endemic in the common wombat populations but there are few reports in koalas.…”

“…The first article reviews the literature relating to sarcoptic mange in Australian wildlife and reports a series of outbreaks of sarcoptic mange in populations of koalas in Victoria and South Australia. 5 Sarcoptic mange is endemic in the common wombat populations but there are few reports in koalas. The study demonstrates the value of wildlife health surveillance collaboration, as koalas with skin lesions were reported to the Melbourne and Adelaide university veterinary schools by a range of veterinarians, wildlife carers and national park personnel.…”