A large number of predators in the north-eastern Poland have been diagnosed with scabies in recent months. According to the researchers from the Mammal Research Institute PAS in Białowieża it may indicate a development of an epizootic, animal equivalent of an epidemic.
In the last few years, a growing number of cases of scabies is observed in wild and domestic animals, report researchers in the release sent to PAP.
In winter 2015-2016 the Mammal Research Institute examined many animals that died due to infection with scabies. There were also reports of observations of bald and emaciated animals.
"In addition to raccoon dogs and foxes, whose populations in our country are large, there were also sick protected animals and rare species of predators. Employees of Wigry National Park made a video trap recording of a wolf pack whose entire litter was infected with scabies. In January this year in the Romincka Forest, a case was reported of exhausted diseased wolf that entered a doghouse and died there. It was an adult male, in which hair was preserved only on the head and the ends of the legs. The predator was extremely exhausted - it weighed only 20 kg, which is half the weight of a healthy wolf" - said Dr. Marta Kołodziej-Sobocińska from the Mammal Research Institute PAS.
On February 28, the Institute treated a lynx, which - despite the employees\' attempts - could not be saved. The animal was found near the village of Guszczewina, in the north of the Białowieża Forest.
According to Dr. Kołodziej-Sobocińska, the emaciated cat did not have the strength to escape. The predator came near the village, which is very unusual for this species - probably in search of food. The lynx died the next day. It was emaciated - it weighed only 9 kg, hypothermic and exhausted. On the body it had extensive hair loss and skin covered with scabs, which made movement and hunting difficult. Researchers suspect that because of hunger diseased animals often also die on the road, when looking for roadkill.
Veterinarians have also recently observed an increased number of cases of scabies in cats and dogs. "Our pets, especially those living in rural areas, often venture into meadows and forests, where there is a risk of contact with sick wild animals. But dogs and cats can become infected even without leaving the farm. It is believed that beech martens, which also suffer from scabies and live on farms, can transmit the disease to household animals and vice versa" - explained the expert.
Spread of the disease is possible because, among other things, for the first 4-8 weeks the infection does not have any symptoms, noted the scientist. Why? Scabies is caused by a mite that digs burrows in the skin of an infected animal or human. There it grows, excretes faeces, sheds moult, lays eggs. In the initial stage of infection, these tiny animals secrete special substances that inhibit the immune defence of the infected organism. And this is the key to their success. Undisturbed by immune response, the mites inhabit the skin, multiply and spread, and when excess secretions and metabolites eventually causes inflammation and severe itching, it is too late for the affected animal - it is not able to fight the disease.
Researchers from the Mammal Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Białowieża reported the increase in the number of cases of scabies already in 2014. They published the results of their research on the subject in the journal "Ecological Research" (http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11284 -013-1118-x)
They identified the factors contributing to the spread of the disease in carnivores living in the forest. Dr. Kołodziej-Sobocińska, Dr. Andrzej Zalewski and Dr. Rafał Kowalczyk showed that the most vulnerable to infection with scabies are animals leading a social life, occupying burrows together with other animals of the same or different species, or killing other predators suffering from scabies.
In the last 20 years in the Białowieża Forest scabies was most commonly found in foxes (19 percent of the affected animals), badgers (9 percent), wolves (7 percent) and raccoon dogs (6 percent). When it has good conditions to spread, the disease may have catastrophic consequences for the populations of wild animals. In addition to behaviour, contributing factors also include high density of animals and lower death rate, which is the result of mild winters in recent years, and spreading rabies vaccines - the researchers pointed out in their publication.
PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland
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