From:
Sue
Date: 2001-12-05 20:45:40 UTC
Subject: [Ferret-Health-list] Sarcoptes and Demodex
My own ferret was diagnosed with demodex. She was on
prednisone for 4 years for insulinoma. It was very
difficult to treat. Theres are a few different kind of
demodex mites. Most are not contagious to other
animals, but there is a type that is thought to be
contagious. I recall when a client brought their cats
(not related) into our clinic and we diagnosed demodex
in both of them. These mites were different (shorter
and fatter) than the typical demodex. They looked like
the kind hamsters get. There is some research showing
that they could be contagious. I have not heard of any
cases of one species spreading it to another species.
My ferret had the shorter and fatter mites, but none of
my other ferrets ever got demodex.
I used amitraz as a treatment, but the mites never fully
resolved before she died. I am enclosing an old picture
of her.
Sue
-------Original Message-------
From: Ferret-Health-list@yahoogroups.com
To: Ferret-Health-list@yahoogroups.com
Cc: faiml@uswest.net
mites
Hello,
Yes, ferrets can get both Sarcoptes and Demodex mites,
although they are not common in ferrets. Sarcoptes is
contagious to people, but is easily cured. It is also
difficult to find on a skin scraping, as they will
burrow into the skin, so you may have to do several deep
skin scrapings to find them. If you do find them under
a microscope, you can pick them out as they have
triangular spines on their backs which is unique to
Sarcoptes. The FDA approved treatment is Revolution,
although Ivermectin and Frontline are also used with
pretty good success. Usually diagnosis is by response
to treatment, rather than discovery of the mites, since
it is so hard to find them from a skin scraping.
Demodex mites are found on most animals normally without
any problems. As you said, they usually only become
problematic in animals with suppressed immune systems,
or in some cases in association with a debilitating
disease. The isolation of a few Demodex mites from a
skin scraping is not considered diagnostic, since they
can be found normally without any disease association,
however a very large number of mites found in
association with clinical signs can be considered a
diagnosis. The FDA treatment is Mitaban (Amitraz), and
it is also about the only treatment that works -
Demodectic mange is not easily cured. Demodex is host
specific - not contagious to people.
Can you tell I just finished a parasitology course?
Anyway, hope that helps.
Dooks to your fuzzies,
Shelley Knudsen
Class of 2004 KSU Veterinary College
ferrets@kansas.net sknudsen@vet.ksu.edu
http://www.tcgcs.com/~ferrets
785-565-9041 cel402-984-4217
"There ain't no limit in this life to how far you can
get,
but if you're going all the way, you gotta break a
sweat."
- Chad Brock
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Attachment 50k (image/jpeg) demodex 2 tx.jpg