Abstract
European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) were introduced into New Zealand from Britain during the period from 1869 to the early 1900s. The only mite found on New Zealand hedgehogs in early studies was Caparinia tripilis, with Sarcoptes scabiei first being reported in 1996. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of Sarcoptes infestation on hedgehogs in New Zealand, the number of mites found and the degree of mange observed. Dead hedgehogs were collected from veterinary clinics, rescue centres, members of the public and from road-kill. Twenty-one (55.3%) of the animals examined had visible skin lesions. Both Caparinia and Sarcoptes mites were identified on microscopic examination with Sarcoptes the most common, being found on over 70% of animals examined (n = 38). The numbers of mites recovered after brushing the head and body ranged from 1 to 5659 (median = 341 mites) with only six animals (22.2%) having fewer than 10 Sarcoptes mites found. Caparinia mites were seen on fewer animals and generally in very low numbers. These findings indicate a change in the mite populations on hedgehogs in New Zealand and that infected animals develop the debilitating hyperkeratotic form of sarcoptic mange without an accompanying hypersensitivity response limiting numbers of mites. Analysis of the cox 1 gene of Sarcoptes from two hedgehogs showed close alignment to sequences derived from a pig with one and from a dog with the second. More work needs to be undertaken to identify the source(s) of the Sarcoptes found on hedgehogs in New Zealand and whether other mammalian hosts may be infected from contact with hedgehogs.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Altschul SF, Gish W, Miller W, Myers EW, Lipman DJ (1990) Basic local alignment search tool. J Mol Biol 215(3):403–410. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-2836(05)80360-2
Arlian LG, Runyan BS, Estes MD (1984) Cross infestivity of Sarcoptes scabiei. J Amer Acad Dermatol 10(6):979–986. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0190-9622(84)80318-7
Arlian LG, Vyszenski-Moher DL, Cordova D (1988) Host specificity of S. scabiei var. canis (Acari: Sarcoptidae) and the role of host odor. J Med Entomol 25(1):52–56. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmedent/25.1.52
Arthur DG (1997) Diseases of lamoids in New Zealand. Theatr Surv 24:29–30
Bexton S, Robinson I (2003) Hedgehogs. In: Mullineaux E, Best D, Cooper JE (eds) BSAVA manual of wildlife casualties. British Small Animal Veterinary Association, Quedgeley, Gloucester, pp 49–65
Bornstein S, Morner T, Samuel WM (2001) Sarcoptes scabiei and sarcoptic mange. In: Samuel WM, Pybus MJ, Kocan AA (eds) Parasitic diseases of wild mammals, 2nd edn. Iowa State University Press, Ames, pp 107–120. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470377000.ch5
Brockie RE (1974) The hedgehog mange mite, Caparinia tripilis, in New Zealand. N Z Vet J 22(12):243–247. https://doi.org/10.1080/00480169.1974.34179
Bunnell T (2001) The incidence of disease and injury in displaced wild hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus). Lutra 44:3–14
Gorton RJ (1998) A study of tuberculosis in hedgehogs so as to predict the location of tuberculous possums. (Masters of Veterinary Science), Massey University, New Zealand. https://mro.massey.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10179/7108/02_whole.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y. Accessed 12th September 2017
Heath ACG, Bishop DM (1984) Treatment of mange in guinea pigs, hampsters and hedgehogs. N Z Vet J 32(7):120. https://doi.org/10.1080/00480169.1984.35091
Heath ACG, Rush-Munro RM, Rutherford DM (1971) The hedgehog—a new host record for Notoedres muris (Acari: Sarcoptidae). N Z Entomol 5(1):100–103. https://doi.org/10.1080/00779962.1971.9722975
Hof AR (2009) A study of the current status of the hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus), and its decline in Great Britain since 1960. (Doctor of Philosophy), University of London. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download;jsessionid=714FB6FADD8C6B1F86A02BAC60E66363?doi=10.1.1.702.1772&rep=rep1&type=pdf. Accessed 12th September 2017
Kearse M, Moir R, Wilson A, Stones-Havas S, Cheung M, Sturrock S, Buxton S, Cooper A, Markowitz S, Duran C, Thierer T, Ashton B, Meintjes P, Drummond A (2012) Geneious Basic: an integrated and extendable desktop software platform for the organization and analysis of sequence data. Bioinformatics 28(12):1647–1649. https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/bts199
Keymer IF, Gibson EA, Reynolds DJ (1991) Zoonoses and other findings in hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus): a survey of mortality and review of the literature. Vet Rec 128(11):245–249. https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.128.11.245
King CM (2005) Order Insectivora. In: The handbook of New Zealand mammals. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 81–94
Kuttin ES, Beemer AM, Gerson U (1977) A dermatitis in a hedgehog associated with Sarcoptes scabiei and fungi. Mycoses 20:51–53
Lindstrőm ER, Andrén H, Angelstam P, Cederlund G, Hőrnfeldt B, Jäderberg L, Lemnell P, Martinsson B, Skőld K, Swenson JE (1994) Disease reveals the predator: sarcoptic mange, red fox predation and prey populations. Ecology 75(4):1042–1049. https://doi.org/10.2307/1939428
Martin RW, Handasyde KA, Skerratt LF (1998) Current distribution of sarcoptic mange in wombats. Aust Vet J 76(6):411–414. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-0813.1998.tb12391.x
Mofiz E, Seemann T, Bahlo M, Holt D, Currie BJ, Fischer K, Papenfuss AT (2016) Mitochondrial genome sequence of the scabies mite provides insight into the genetic diversity of individual scabies infections. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 10:1–16
Parkes J (1975) Some aspects of the biology of the hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus L.) in the Manawatu, New Zealand. N Z J Zool 2(4):463–472. https://doi.org/10.1080/03014223.1975.9517887
Pence DB, Ueckermann E (2002) Sarcoptic mange in wildlife. Rev Sci Tech OIE 21(2):385–398. https://doi.org/10.20506/rst.21.2.1335
Pence DB, Windberg LA, Pence BC, Sprowls R (1983) The epizootiology and pathology of sarcoptic mange in coyotes, Canis latrans, from South Texas. J Parasit 69(6):1100–1115. https://doi.org/10.2307/3280873
Reeve N (1994) Hedgehogs, 1st edn. T & A D Poyser Ltd., London
Robinson I, Routh A (1999) Veterinary care of the hedgehog. In Pract 21(3):128–137. https://doi.org/10.1136/inpract.21.3.128
Smith JMB, Marples MJ (1964) Trichophyton mentagrophytes var. erinacei. Sabouraudia 3(1):1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/00362176485190021
Soulsbury CV, Iossa G, Baker PJ, Cole NC, Funk SM, Harris S (2007) The impact of sarcoptic mange Sarcoptes scabiei on the British fox Vulpes vulpes population. Mammal Rev 37:278–296
Tenquist JD, Charleston WAG (2001) A revision of the annotated checklist of ectoparasites of terrestrial mammals in New Zealand. J R Soc N Z 31(3):481–542. https://doi.org/10.1080/03014223.2001.9517666
Walton SF, Pizzutto S, Slender A, Viberg L, Holt D, Hales BJ, Kemp DJ, Currie BJ, Rolland JM, O’Hehir R (2010) Increased allergic immune response to Sarcoptes scabiei antigens in crusted versus ordinary scabies. Clin Vaccine Immunol 17(9):1428–1438. https://doi.org/10.1128/CVI.00195-10
Whitten LK (1962) Parasitic mites of domestic animals in New Zealand. N Z Entomol 3(1):9–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/00779962.1962.9722807
Wong SS, Poon RW, Chau S, Wong SC, To KK, Cheng VC, Fung CC, Fung KSC, Yuen KY (2015) Development of conventional and real-time quantitative PCR assays for diagnosis and monitoring of scabies. J Clin Microbiol 53(7):2095–2102. https://doi.org/10.1128/JCM.00073-15
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kriechbaum, C., Pomroy, W. & Gedye, K. Sarcoptes scabiei on hedgehogs in New Zealand. Parasitol Res 117, 697–703 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-017-5739-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-017-5739-9