A review of Sarcoptes scabiei: past, present and future

• Published in: Parasites & vectors Vol. 10; no. 1; p. 297
• Main Authors: Arlian, Larry G, Morgan, Marjorie S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 20.06.2017; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Analysis; Animals; Antigens; Biology; Blood; Burrowing organisms; Burrows; Diagnosis; Diagnostic systems; Disease; Disease control; Disease transmission; Diseases; Epidermis; Females; Genomes; Host-parasite interaction; Host-Parasite Interactions; Host-parasite relationships; Host-seeking behavior; Humans; Infections; Infectivity; Interactions; Mites; Nutrition; Prevention; Proteomes; Review; Sarcoptes scabiei; Sarcoptes scabiei - physiology; Scabies; Scabies - parasitology; Skin; Skin - parasitology; Skin diseases; Vaccines; Zoobenthos; Diagnostic test; Host-parasite interaction; Nutrition; Sarcoptes scabiei; Infectivity; Biology; Host-seeking behavior; Vaccine; Immune modulation
• ISSN: 1756-3305; 1756-3305
• DOI: 10.1186/s13071-017-2234-1

The disease scabies is one of the earliest diseases of humans for which the cause was known. It is caused by the mite, Sarcoptes scabiei, that burrows in the epidermis of the skin of humans and many other mammals. This mite was previously known as Acarus scabiei DeGeer, 1778 before the genus Sarcoptes was established (Latreille 1802) and it became S. scabiei. Research during the last 40 years has tremendously increased insight into the mite's biology, parasite-host interactions, and the mechanisms it uses to evade the host's defenses. This review highlights some of the major advancements of our knowledge of the mite's biology, genome, proteome, and immunomodulating abilities all of which provide a basis for control of the disease. Advances toward the development of a diagnostic blood test to detect a scabies infection and a vaccine to protect susceptible populations from becoming infected, or at least limiting the transmission of the disease, are also presented.