Fuchsräude

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Red fox with sarcoptic mange

The fox mange , medically sarcoptic mange of the fox , is a parasitic skin disease caused by the mange mite Sarcoptes scabiei . It usually leads to the death of the infected fox within 3 months, but it can also heal or persist without clinical symptoms. The disease is mainly transmitted through direct contact from fox to fox and is highly contagious. A transmission and infection to the house dog through contact with foxes or via burrows is possible, whereby the dog develops the clinical picture of a sarcoptic mange in the dog . Man, on the other hand, is a false host for the causative agent of the fox mange; the mite does not reproduce there. Nevertheless, a skin disease, pseudo scabies , can occur. Even a brief touch of a sick animal can be enough for humans to become infected.

Pathogen and disease development

Mangy fox

The grave mite Sarcoptes scabiei is the causative agent of the fox mange . This mite is predominantly host-specific, the causative agent of the fox moth is called Sarcoptes scabiei var. Vulpes (or Sarcoptes vulpes ). But it can - like Sarcoptes scabiei var. Canis - regardless of the season, domestic dogs and other species from the dog family such as wolves and coyotes . This is where contact with the transmission occurs when foxes are preyed on by wolf or coyote as mesoprädators . Marten are also likely to be infected. Also lynx can probably ill as a result of transmission.

The grave mite causes an allergic reaction in the affected animals to mite antigens (for example from eggs, saliva or faeces of the mites), which is accompanied by severe itching. As a result, the foxes scratch or bite themselves, and skin lesions occur, including open wounds, which go far beyond the damage caused by the mites and the skin damage caused by the allergic reactions. Secondary infections of the affected skin areas often occur .

Epidemiology

Note that dogs must be kept on leashes in the Kaiserwald

The population density plays an important role for the transmission of the fox mange . In regions with a very dense fox population, where the animals have not yet had contact with the mite, the disease rates are particularly high. This makes the fox mange the classic density regulator in the red fox . However, there is also evidence that fox populations are adapting to the parasite and that infections are more likely to be without clinical symptoms.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b TU Munich, Working Group Wildlife Biology and Wildlife Management at the Chair of Animal Ecology: Information on the fox moose.
  2. ↑ Thomas Schnieder: Veterinary Parasitology. Georg Thieme Verlag, 2006, ISBN 3830442025 , p. 542
  3. ^ A b c Georg von Samson-Himmelstjerna, Horst Zahner, Johannes Eckert, Peter Deplazes: Textbook of Parasitology for Veterinary Medicine. 2012, ISBN 3830412053 , pp. 424-430.
  4. ↑ DPJ Kuijper, E. Sahlén, B. Elmhagen, S. Chamaillé-Jammes, H. Sand, K. Lone, JPGM Cromsigt: Paws without claws? Ecological effects of large carnivores in anthropogenic landscapes. In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Vol. 283, No. 26, 2016, Item No. 20161625, doi: 10.1098 / rspb.2016.1625 .
  5. ^ Marie-Pierre Ryser-Degiorgis, Andreas Ryser, Luca N. Bacciarini, Christof Angst, Bruno Gottstein, Martin Janovsky, Urs Breitenmoser: Notoedric and Sarcoptic Mange in Free-ranging Lynx from Switzerland. In: Journal of Wildlife Diseases. 38, 2002, pp. 228-232, doi : 10.7589 / 0090-3558-38.1.228 .
  6. ^ DB Pence and E. Ueckermann: Sarcoptic mange in wildlife Rev. sci. tech. Off. int. Epiz., 2002, 21 (2), pages 385-398.
  7. ↑ Nordkurier: Old plague, new victims: wolves
  8. ↑ U. Fischer: Fuchsräude - Technical information - Status: 10.2012
  9. ↑ Rebecca K. Davidson, Set Bornstein, Kjell Handeland: Long-term study of Sarcoptes scabiei infection in Norwegian red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) indicating host / parasite adaptation. In: Veterinary Parasitology. 156, 2008, pp. 277–283, doi : 10.1016 / j.vetpar.2008.05.019 .