Sarcoptic Mange Epidemiology in Wildlife Populations
Summary
Sarcoptic mange, caused by the burrowing mite Sarcoptes scabiei, is a skin disease of near-global concern for wildlife conservation. This pathogen infects a wide range of mammalian hosts, from carnivores and marsupials to ungulates, and can drive severe population declines through reduced reproductive success, impaired thermoregulation and secondary infections. Transmission occurs via direct contact between hosts and through contaminated environments, where mites can persist for days to weeks. Anthropogenic factors such as habitat fragmentation, supplemental feeding and infrastructure development can alter host density and movement, thereby influencing disease spread. Climate variation further modulates mite survival off-host and host susceptibility, with wetter or colder conditions extending environmental viability. Outbreak dynamics often exhibit spatial heterogeneity, shaped by host social systems, landscape features and the presence of high-contact individuals or “super-spreaders.” Effective management strategies require integration of surveillance technologies—such as camera-trap networks and molecular diagnostics—with targeted interventions, including habitat management and treatment in vulnerable populations. A deeper understanding of cross-species transmission and environmental reservoirs remains critical to forecasting future outbreaks and safeguarding both common and threatened wildlife species.
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Sarcoptic Mange Epidemiology in Wildlife Populations publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in sarcoptic mange epidemiology in wildlife populations across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Panzootic: A disease event affecting multiple animal species over a wide geographic area.
Epizootic: A sharp increase in disease incidence within a particular animal population over a limited area.
Host reservoir: A species or population that maintains and amplifies a pathogen, serving as a continual source of infection.
Environmental transmission: Spread of infectious agents via contamination of shared habitats or substrates, without direct host contact.
Super-spreader: An individual host that disproportionately contributes to pathogen transmission due to high contact rates or mobility.
References
- Consequences of repeated sarcoptic mange outbreaks in an endangered mammal population. Ecography (2024).
- Host, environment, and anthropogenic factors drive landscape dynamics of an environmentally transmitted pathogen: Sarcoptic mange in the bare‐nosed wombat. Journal of Animal Ecology (2023).
- Epidemiology of sarcoptic mange in a geographically constrained insular red fox population. Parasites & Vectors (2024).
- Sarcoptic mange: An emerging panzootic in wildlife. Transboundary and Emerging Diseases (2021).
- The cascading pathogenic consequences of Sarcoptes scabiei infection that manifest in host disease. Royal Society Open Science (2018).
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