[Biological behavior of Sarcoptes scabiei var. suis in swine epidermis. A scanning electron microscopy study in hyperkeratotic (or Norwegian) scabies of swine].

The behaviour of Sarcoptes scabiei var. suis has been studied in hyperkeratotic scabies of pigs (fig. 1). The scanning electron microscope enabled us to observe the outer surface of the eggs in the burrow and even within the cut body of the fertilized female mite (fig. 2). Early events during hatching of the eggs and the first steps of the newborn larva (fig. 3) are shown. The presence of crystals containing calcium and phosphate is shown to occur in places where huge amounts of faecal material are collected (fig. 4). Although some of these aspects have not been published previously we observed many similarities in behavior between Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis and suis in their respective hosts affected with hyperkeratotic scabies. As to the therapeutic aspect of scabies in humans, carefully selected drugs currently used in the systemic treatment of scabies in pigs would be worth a trial in patients difficult to treat.