Epidemiological study of sarcoptic mange in raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides albus) in Hokkaido, Japan

• Published in: The Japanese Journal of Veterinary Research Vol. 67; no. 4; pp. 253 - 261
• Main Authors: Mariko Sashika, Go Abe, Mariko Nakai, Aya Osaki, Ayako Fujimoto, Toshio Tsubota
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University 01.11.2019
• ISSN: 0047-1917
• DOI: 10.14943/jjvr.67.4.253

[Abstract] Sarcoptic mange is a pruritic skin disease caused by Sarcoptes scabiei, and can impact wildlife populations. In Japan, sarcoptic mange has rapidly spread among medium-sized mammals, especially raccoon dogs, since the 1980s, and can cause regional extinction. We conducted an epidemiological survey on sarcoptic mange in raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides albus) at two different sampling sites (Nopporo and Mukawa) in Hokkaido, Japan. We captured raccoon dogs using box traps in Nopporo from 2003 to 2018, and collected raccoon dog carcasses in Mukawa from 2005 to 2010; we investigated whether they were infested with S. scabiei. In Nopporo, sarcoptic mange incidences were detected from 2003 to 2004 and from 2016 to 2018, when the raccoon dog population density was high. Subsequently, the number of captured raccoon dogs decreased. Alternatively, when the raccoon dog population density was low, no S. scabiei-infested raccoon dogs were detected except in 2010. In 2010, three S. scabiei-infested raccoon dogs were captured at the southern end of the forest, and these individuals were subsequently confirmed to have died. Because they did not enter the central region of the forest, the incidence was localized. In Mukawa, 240 raccoon dogs were captured, of which 60 were infested with S. scabiei from 2005 to 2010, and a decrease in the number of captured raccoon dogs was confirmed after the sarcoptic mange epidemic. In conclusion, the increased population density might have resulted in the incidence of sarcoptic mange in raccoon dogs, and sarcoptic mange possibly impacted raccoon dog population density.