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

Marta Valldeperes,Luca Rossi,Anna Rita Molinar Min,Santiago Lavín,Roser Velarde,Samer Angelone,Barbara Moroni,José Enrique Granados,Jorge Ramón López-Olvera,Emmanuel Serrano,Gregorio Mentaberre

doi:10.1186/s13071-021-04979-w

Marta Valldeperes, Luca Rossi + Show 9 more

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https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-021-04979-w

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Abstract

BackgroundSarcoptic 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.MethodsA 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.ResultsSarcoptes 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.ConclusionsTo 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.Graphical abstract

Highlights

Sarcoptic mange is a globally distributed parasitic disease caused by the burrowing mite Sarcoptes scabiei
Sarcoptic mange is an emerging and re-emerging parasitic disease of human and wildlife health concern caused by the burrowing mite Sarcoptes scabiei [1,2,3]
This study aims to describe the first clinical cases of sarcoptic mange in wild boars from the Iberian Peninsula and to identify the possible source of the infection by comparing mites from different wild boar and sympatric Iberian ibex populations in Spain using microsatellites as molecular markers

Summary

Introduction

Sarcoptic mange is a globally distributed parasitic disease caused by the burrowing mite Sarcoptes scabiei. Sarcoptic mange is an emerging and re-emerging parasitic disease of human and wildlife health concern caused by the burrowing mite Sarcoptes scabiei [1,2,3]. It has been described in more than 100 mammal species, causing wildlife population declines and livestock economic losses in a number of them due to difficulties in Valldeperes et al Parasites Vectors (2021) 14:481 controlling the disease, in wild free-ranging ungulate populations [3, 4]. Microsatellites have become the most used and accepted molecular markers for the identification of Sarcoptes host-taxon clusters [10,11,12,13,14] and in forensic investigations of scabietic traded animals [15] to trace the origin of outbreaks and mite genetic population distances

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