Introduction

Active Forms

Clinical Effects

Epidemiology

Habitat

• Temporary parasite.
• Mites live in dark crevices in walls and cages of poultry houses, nests of birds in eaves, in aviaries.
• Emerge only temporarily to suck blood on birds, primarily but not exclusively at night.
• Occasionally feed on dog, cat or man.

Lifecycle

• D. gallinae lifecycle :
  • Adult.
  • Egg.
  • Larva.
  • Nymphs.

Transmission

• Dogs only an accidental host, becoming infected with mites from the environment of birds.

Pathological effects

• Hypersensitivity reaction to mite antigen deposited in skin when it bites.
• Eosinophilic infiltration in the dermis and perivascular areas is described in human patients.

• Erythematous, pruritic papules from bites of mites that may have entered the house.
• Severe infestations of dogs lying near poultry houses develop into miliary dermatitis lesions with erythema, pruritus, crusting and severe self-excoriation.
• Lesions primarily along the back but also on the limbs and over the whole body.

Other Host Effects

• Feeds on blood in nymphal and adult stages.

Control

Control via animal

• Mites will not remain on the animal but acaricide/insecticide wash/spray might be useful.

Control via chemotherapies

• Amitraz Amitraz (unlicensed use in dogs).
• Dichlorvos /fenitrothion (unlicensed use in dogs).
• Phosmet (unlicensed use in dogs).
• Fipronil (unlicenced use in dogs).

Control via environment

• Mites will survive months in the environment in an unfed state.
• Aggressive treatment of poultry house with acaricide.
• Remove nests from eaves, etc, or treat them with an acaricide after fledglings have left.

Diagnosis

Further Reading

Publications

Refereed papers

• Recent references from PubMed and VetMedResource.