Sarcoptic mange of gazelle (Gazella subguttarosa) and its medical importance in Iran

Abstract

Sarcoptes scabiei infestation was diagnosed in four freshly dead and three net-captured gazelle while ranging freely. The captured animals presented with an alopecic pruritic skin disease with signs of crusted skin lesions, numerous small nodules which first appeared on the lips or nostrils and then it also extended towards the eyelids, around the ears, and, in some cases, over entire face, neck, trunk, and legs. Skin over the affected area gradually became bald, thick and hard, being dry and doughy to the touch, and serous fluid or sometimes blood oozes from the lesions which had a severe malodor. Skin scrapings confirmed the presence of the mite S. scabiei. Histopathology of lesions demonstrated marked acanthosis, hyperkeratosis, and parakeratosis. Microscopical examination also revealed all stages of S. scabiei, which were located mainly in the stratum corneum and also in the stratum granulosum. During the capture and sampling of the animals, four persons ranging in age from 25 to 62 years were exposed to scabies. Two relatives of one of them have been also affected by familiar contact. Clinical signs appeared within 9 days of exposure. They developed several pruretic erythematous papules with intense itching.

Some observations on sheep sarcoptic mange in Tehran province, Iran

“…The prevalence of mite and lice of sheep and goat was studied by Nadalian et al 1989 in Tehran province. Recently, Bazargani et al 2007 described the clinical sign and pathological changes in gazelle infested by Sarcoptes scabiei. The aim of this study is to define some aspects of sheep sarcoptic scabs in Iran.…”

Zoonotic Episodes of Scabies: A Global Overview

“…In this episode, people became infested through direct contact with different species of domestic animals (pigs, goats, dogs, horses, oxen) that, in turn, had previous contact with the scabietic fox. However, in other wildlife-derived ZS cases, the affected individuals were involved in wildlife-related occupations as keepers, veterinarians or specialized operators, or were private citizens who found themselves rescuing a scabietic animal or handling a fresh carcass [8,36,43,44,47,53,63]. Reportedly, wearing gloves did not guarantee protection in all cases [44,47], possibly due to the enormous number of mites crawling on the skin surface of source individuals affected by generalized crusted scabies.…”

“…However, in other wildlife-derived ZS cases, the affected individuals were involved in wildlife-related occupations as keepers, veterinarians or specialized operators, or were private citizens who found themselves rescuing a scabietic animal or handling a fresh carcass [8,36,43,44,47,53,63]. Reportedly, wearing gloves did not guarantee protection in all cases [44,47], possibly due to the enormous number of mites crawling on the skin surface of source individuals affected by generalized crusted scabies. Beyond the literature, the authors have personal experience that ZS is not uncommon among hunters and gamekeepers in areas of Central and Southern Europe where mountain-dwelling ruminants are endemically infected with sarcoptic mange [44,47].…”

“…Reportedly, wearing gloves did not guarantee protection in all cases [44,47], possibly due to the enormous number of mites crawling on the skin surface of source individuals affected by generalized crusted scabies. Beyond the literature, the authors have personal experience that ZS is not uncommon among hunters and gamekeepers in areas of Central and Southern Europe where mountain-dwelling ruminants are endemically infected with sarcoptic mange [44,47]. However, to the authors' knowledge, no ZS cases have been reported in wild boar hunters, although the disease is observed in wild boar throughout Europe [13,64,65].…”

The neglected navigating web of the incomprehensibly emerging and re-emerging Sarcoptes mite

“…Humans are occasionally infected with S. scabiei of animal origin (Arlian, 1989). This includes human infection from camel, cat, chamois, coyote, dog, ferret, fox, wombat, gazelle, goat, horse, llama, pig, sheep, water buffalo and cattle (Kutzer, 1970;Fain, 1978;Chakrabarti et al, 1981;Samuel, 1981;Folz, 1984;Chakrabarti, 1990;Mitra et al, 1993;Morsy et al, 1995;Skerratt and Beveridge, 1999;Menzano et al, 2004;Bazargani et al, 2007). Those infected include farmers, personnel working in slaughterhouses researchers, veterinarians, wildlife biologist, and pet owners.…”