Rojas-Sereno Zulma, Abbott Rachel C, Hynes Kevin, Bunting Elizabeth, Hurst Jeremy, Heerkens Steve, Hanley Brenda, Hollingshead Nicholas, Martin Patrick, Schuler Krysten
Centro para la Investigación de la Sustentabilidad y Doctorado en Medicina de la Conservación, Facultad Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad Andres Bello, República 440, Santiago 8320000, Chile.
Cornell Wildlife Health Lab, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, 240 Farrier Road, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
J Wildl Dis. 2022 Oct 1;58(4):847-858. doi: 10.7589/JWD-D-22-00010.
Mange, a parasitic skin disease caused by various species of mites, is found in free-ranging wildlife populations and has been increasingly reported in American black bears (Ursus americanus) over the last decade in New York State (NYS), USA. Our goal was to describe the geographic, seasonal, and demographic factors associated with mange in this species in NYS. Our retrospective study used historic, opportunistic data from diagnostic necropsy records and visual sighting reports collected by the NYS Wildlife Health Program from 2009 to 2018. We used chi-square tests for independence and odds ratios to examine whether geographic location, year, season, sex, age, and reason for laboratory submission were associated with mange in bears. We used maps and seasonal analysis to investigate emerging patterns. We confirmed increased black bear mange reports in recent years. Necropsy data revealed more bears submitted to the laboratory because of mange, mainly caused by Sarcoptes scabiei; females were more likely than males to present with sarcoptic mange. We found that cases of mange in the Northern Zone were widely disseminated throughout the region, whereas cases in the Southern Zone were concentrated in two areas along the Pennsylvania border. Seasonally, mange cases showed peaks occurring in late spring to early summer and in fall. Our results were on the basis of available data; a comprehensive statewide surveillance program would be useful to better understand the apparent increase in mange and its potential impact on both the welfare of individual animals and the population of black bears in NYS. Additional research on the timing of transmission dynamics associated with females in winter dens may be helpful to wildlife managers to identify strategies to mitigate deleterious spread of the disease in black bears.
疥癣是一种由多种螨虫引起的寄生性皮肤病，在自由放养的野生动物种群中时有发现，并且在过去十年里，美国纽约州（NYS）的美洲黑熊（Ursus americanus）感染疥癣的报告越来越多。我们的目标是描述纽约州该物种中与疥癣相关的地理、季节和人口统计学因素。我们的回顾性研究使用了来自纽约州野生动物健康计划在2009年至2018年期间收集的诊断尸检记录和目视观察报告中的历史机会性数据。我们使用卡方独立性检验和比值比来检查地理位置、年份、季节、性别、年龄以及送检实验室的原因是否与熊的疥癣有关。我们使用地图和季节性分析来调查新出现的模式。我们证实近年来美洲黑熊疥癣报告有所增加。尸检数据显示，更多的熊因疥癣被送到实验室，主要由疥螨引起；雌性比雄性更易患疥螨性疥癣。我们发现北部地区的疥癣病例在整个区域广泛分布，而南部地区的病例集中在宾夕法尼亚边境沿线的两个区域。从季节上看，疥癣病例在春末至初夏以及秋季出现高峰。我们的结果基于现有数据；一个全面的全州监测计划将有助于更好地了解疥癣明显增加的情况及其对纽约州个体动物福利和黑熊种群的潜在影响。对冬季巢穴中与雌性相关的传播动态时间进行更多研究，可能有助于野生动物管理者确定减轻该疾病在黑熊中有害传播的策略。
