Epizootiology of sarcoptic mange in a population of cantabrian chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica parva) in Northwestern Spain

In May of 1993, an epizootic of sarcoptic mange (Sarcoptes scabiei) was detected in the chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica parva) population of the Cantabrian Mountains in northwestern Spain. The epizootic initially spread across an area inhabited by some 1600 chamois. Mortality was lower than reported for other populations of ungulates. The maximum number of animals were affected from February to May. Four red deer (Cervus elaphus) and a roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), were diagnosed with sarcoptic mange from the same area in 1995. In these chamois mange was not correlated with host age or sex. The health and physiological status of this chamois population were not predisposing factors in the appearance of the mange epizootic. The clinical, epidemiological, serological, pathological and parasitological findings of this epizootic from May 1993 to June 1995 are described in this report. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.