Sarcoptic mange infestation in pigs in a hilly region of Meghalaya

Abstract

Skin lesions were collected from 15 adult crossbred pigs maintained at the pig farm of ICAR Research Complex for the North-Eastern Hill Region, Umiam, a hilly region of the state of Meghalaya, India. Skin scrapings of these 15 animals were examined by KOH digestion method. Presence of mites were detected in five animals which were indistinguishable from Sarcoptes scabiei var. suis. Infected pigs were treated with a single dose of Ivermectin at 200 ug/kg body weight, subcutaneously. No mites were recovered from treated pigs after a period of 10 days of post-treatment. The presence of S. scabiei var. suis in pigs from this part of the country has never been reported. This infestation has great significance because it affects the growth rate and feed conversion significantly, specially to the grower and weaned pigs. It can be concluded that S. scabiei var. suis infestation is prevalent in hilly region of Meghalaya. The pig producers are generally unaware about the severity of the problem of mite infestation, so precaution should be taken to prevent their valuable pigs from S. scabiei var. suis infestation.

Sarcoptic mange infestation in pigs: an overview

“…In one organized farm of Meghalaya, presence of S. scabiei var. suis infestation were detected in five pigs out of 15 suspected pigs which were suffered from skin lesions (Das et al 2010). In another study of Meghalaya, among suspected skin lesions of pigs maintained in both organized and unorganized way, overall 11.11 % pigs were found positive for S. scabiei var.…”

“…In natural infestations in crossbred pigs (Hampshire X Khasi local) lesions were mostly observed in ears, head, neck region, shoulders, leg and back region of those pigs. The lesions were characterized by reddening of the infested area, formation of crusts, hyperkeratosis, and fall of hairs from the area with wrinkled, thickened, rough, raised and thick asbestos-like skin (Das et al 2010). The main clinical symptoms observed in the naturally infested pigs were pruritis as a result affected pigs showed rubbing of the skin against the wall of the pen (Loewenstein et al 2006b;Das et al 2010).…”

“…The lesions were characterized by reddening of the infested area, formation of crusts, hyperkeratosis, and fall of hairs from the area with wrinkled, thickened, rough, raised and thick asbestos-like skin (Das et al 2010). The main clinical symptoms observed in the naturally infested pigs were pruritis as a result affected pigs showed rubbing of the skin against the wall of the pen (Loewenstein et al 2006b;Das et al 2010). The infestation may be a hypersensitive form, characterized by pruritis and the presence of small red papules or a chronic form, characterized by crusts (Rambozzi et al 2007).…”

“…Kumar et al (2005) successfully used ivermectin @ 300 lg/kg body weight subcutaneously which cured the infested pigs on 7 days post treatment. Das et al (2010) successfully used Ivermectin subcutaneously @ 200 lg/kg body weight in treatment of S. scabiei var. suis infestation in crossbred pigs.…”

Assay of alterations in oxidative stress markers in pigs naturally infested with Sarcoptes scabiei var. suis

“…suis, is one of the most common causes of mange infestation in swine with significant losses to the primary industries, especially in pig herds, where it leads to decreased growth rate and subsequently reduced feed conversion efficiency (Dimri et al, 2008a). Clinical symptoms of sarcoptic mange include generalized focal erythema, pruritus and later encrustations, especially in the ears progress to the skin of the back, which may become very thickened and crack open leaving deep wounds imparting secondary infections (Das et al, 2010). Previously, S. scabiei var.…”