Psoroptes ovis infestation of sheep in São Vicente do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Abstract

Sheep psoroptic mange is a form of highly itchy and contagious dermatitis caused by the mite Psoroptes ovis. Here, we reporteda case of sheep psoroptic mange outbreak at a property in São Vicente do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul (RS), Brazil. Poor nutritional status, restless behavior, pruritus, wool fall, yellowish crusted skin lesions with edge exudate, erythema surrounding the lesions and presence of wool trapped between the teeth were observed in the herd. Complete blood count test showed marked eosinophilia, and parasitological examination of a skin scrape revealed P. ovis. Histopathological examination of a skin biopsy sample revealed eosinophilic pustular dermatitis. The treatment consisted of two administrations of 1% ivermectin at 1 mL/33 kg of body weight subcutaneously over an interval of 10 days. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the occurrence of psoroptic mange at a sheep farm of RS with description of the clinical signs and laboratory and histopathological findings.

A New Species of Demodex (Acariformes: Prostigmata) Observed in the Mouflon, Ovis aries musimon (Artiodactyla: Bovidae) with Data on the Parasitism and Occurrence of Other Ectoparasites

“…So far, such data have only covered the domestic sheep Ovis aries aries Linnaeus, 1758, where both temporary parasitic mites (Ixodidae) and stationary skin mites of the Astigmata (Psoroptidae and Sarcoptidae) and Prostigmata (Demodecidae and Psorergatidae) have been recorded, including specific parasites of this host: Demodex aries Desch, 1986, D. ovis Railliet, 1895, and Psorobia ovis (Womersley, 1941). Most information, however, relates to observations of the disease manifestations of the parasitoses they cause (psoroptosis, chorioptosis, sarcoptosis, and demodecosis), whose development is often related to domesticated lifestyle and husbandry conditions [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. In contrast, in the natural environment, such parasitoses are rare, and parasitic mites usually form stable and balanced host–parasite systems with their hosts, where load parasite levels do not exceed host tolerance levels and infestations do not cause disease symptoms [ 17 ].…”