Rise in Canine Scabies Cases in Leicester Area
1st October 2010
Following on from a report in the Leicester Mercury 2-3 weeks ago about a surge in canine scabies cases in the Market Harborough area, I have seen 3 cases in quick succession in the LFE and Beaumont Leys areas of Leicester
Hair loss and erythema and a papular rash on inside of hock.
The disease of caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei and symptoms of itchy skin particularly on the limbs, flanks and the ears (many dogs have crusty ear rims which produces the “pinnal scratch reflex” which is supicious although not completely diagnostic of scabies- rubbing the edge of the ear flap induces scratching by the hind legs). Itchy dog skin can develop some time after intial infestation as the dog develops a hypersensitivity to the mite. Self trauma can make the skin look much worse and this particular dog was chewing at its limbs as well as scratching its ears. As the clinical signs are due to a hypersensitivity to the mites, which burrow in the top layers of the epidermis of the skin, it can be difficult to find them on skin scrapings. In this particular case I took several scrapings and found no mites, but was lucky enough to find one slide with 3 sarcoptes eggs, which confirmed the diagnosis. There is now a very reliable blood test that can confirm diagnosis by measuring antibodies to the mite, but will only give positive results if the dog has been infested for at least 4 weeks. If a case is supected before this time and mites can’t be found, it is common to try a therapeutic trial with a good miticide.
Similar lesions on the Front Leg
Scabies is very contagious and can spread by direct contact with an affected animal or also picking the mites from the ground where other affected animals have laid. Foxes are a major carrier of this mite and are suspected of being responsible for a large number of cases that we are now seeing.
Canine scabies is a major differential when seeing a dog with itchy skin and when considering possible allergies and therapeutic trials are aften done when investigating a case.
Below are photos of the offending mite and its eggs as seen when recoverd from the skin by a skin scraping.
