Parasitic Zoonoses
When a parasite that usually resides inside or on an animal’s body causes a disease in human beings, the disease caused by it is known as parasitic zoonosis. There are many types of parasites that reside in and on animals’ bodies. Pet animals like dogs and cats also have them and can become an important source of transmission of these parasites to humans if not taken good care of.
Scabies
Scabies, also known as Sarcastic Mange is a zoonotic disease mainly transmitted to people from dogs and cats. The causative organism is known as Sarcopetes scaibei. This mite can be transmitted to humans in close contact with animals. The course of the disease can be longer in humans who have poor immunity systems or are on immunosuppressive drugs. This infection causes extreme itching and irritation. The Sarcopetes scabiei mange mite gets transmitted to humans on close contact with infected domestic animals, leading to intense pruritis and irritation due to the hypersensitivity reactions for the mites and their products. Sarcoptes scabiei var cannis affects parts of the bodies of dogs that are devoid of hair, such as the head, chest, abdomen, neck, face, ears, elbow, and hocks.
The transmission in humans happens after close contact with infected animals. A full-blown infection does not occur in humans infected with this dog mite as they are not the primary hosts.
Humans can also transmit the infection to other humans by close contact or sharing of personal belongings. The animal-animal transmission happens via direct contact or fomites. Very young or immunocompromised animals are at a higher risk of developing this infection.
In humans-
- Frequent itching
- Rashes on the body
- Sores
- Thick crusts on the skin
- Scales or blisters
- Appearance of track-like burrows in the skin
In animals-
- Intense scratching
- Crust formation
- Rashes
- Hairloss
- Food allergies and bacterial infections have to be eliminated. A skin scraping test is performed to observe the mite directly under the microscope.
Animals should also be on ectoparasite control. Various methods of preventing ectoparasites are available in the market. They should be cleaned and bathed regularly. Humans should clean themselves up properly after coming into contact with stray animals. Limited physical contact between stray animals and pet animals should take place in order to reduce the spread of diseases.