First report of interspecific transmission of sarcoptic mange from Iberian ibex to wild boar

• Published in: Parasites & vectors 2021-09, Vol.14 (1), p.481-13, Article 481
• Main Authors: Valldeperes, Marta, Moroni, Barbara, Rossi, Luca, López-Olvera, Jorge Ramón, Velarde, Roser, Molinar Min, Anna Rita, Mentaberre, Gregorio, Serrano, Emmanuel, Angelone, Samer, Lavín, Santiago, Granados, José Enrique
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptive immunity; Allopatry; Animals; Animals, Wild - parasitology; Burrowing organisms; Capra pyrenaica; Care and treatment; Cross-transmission; Defence mechanisms; Diagnosis; Disease Outbreaks; Disease transmission; Endangered & extinct species; Epidemics; Female; Goat Diseases - epidemiology; Goat Diseases - parasitology; Goat Diseases - transmission; Goats - parasitology; Health aspects; Health surveillance; Histopathology; Hogs; Host specificity; Host-parasite relationships; Hydroxides; Identification; Immune response; Immune system; Immunity; Immunohistochemistry; Inflammation; Interspecific; Lesions; Lymphatic system; Lymphocytes B; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Microsatellites; Mites; National parks; Necropsy; Nucleotide sequence; Parasitic diseases; Parasitoses; Pathogens; PCR; Phylogeny; Polymerase chain reaction; Potassium; Predators; Prey; Ruminants; Sarcoptes scabiei; Sarcoptes scabiei - genetics; Sarcoptes scabiei - immunology; Sarcoptes scabiei - pathogenicity; Scabies; Scabies - epidemiology; Scabies - transmission; Scabies - veterinary; Skin; Skin - parasitology; Skin - pathology; Skin diseases; Skin lesions; Spain; Spain - epidemiology; Specificity; Sus scrofa; Sus scrofa - parasitology; Sympatric populations; Toluidine; Toluidine blue; Wild boar; Wildlife conservation
• ISSN: 1756-3305; 1756-3305
• DOI: 10.1186/s13071-021-04979-w

Sarcoptic mange is a globally distributed parasitic disease caused by the burrowing mite Sarcoptes scabiei. This mite has a certain degree of host specificity, although interspecific transmission can occur among phylogenetically related species or through prey-predator mediated exposure. In 2018, a wild boar (Sus scrofa) with lesions compatible with sarcoptic mange was hunted in Ports de Tortosa i Beseit Natural Park (PTB, north-eastern Spain), where an active epizootic outbreak of sarcoptic mange is affecting Iberian ibexes (Capra pyrenaica) since 2014. A complete necropsy, skin scrapings and skin digestions with hydroxide potassium were performed to confirm the diagnosis. Routine histopathological analysis, toluidine blue staining and immunohistochemistry were used to characterize the lesions and the inflammatory infiltrate. Finally, 10 specific S. scabiei microsatellites were molecularly genotyped through polymerase chain reactions in mites obtained from the affected wild boar. For phylogenetic comparison, mites obtained from sympatric Iberian ibexes and allopatric wild boars and Iberian ibexes from southern Spain were analysed. Sarcoptes scabiei was visually and molecularly identified in the infested wild boar from PTB, causing skin lesions with dermal inflammatory infiltrate rich in T and B cells, which indicate an adaptive immune response. Three S. scabiei genetic clusters were identified: one included mites from southern Iberian ibexes, another included mites from southern wild boars, and a third one distinctively grouped the wild boar from PTB with the sympatric ibexes. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first reported case of sarcoptic mange in wild boar in Spain and the first documented case of S. scabiei cross-transmission from a wild ruminant host to a wild boar. The wild boar presented an ordinary scabies type reaction, which is typical of the self-limiting infestations reported in other cases of interspecific transmission.