EPIZOOTIOLOGY OF SARCOPTIC MANGE IN A POPULATION OF CANTABRIAN CHAMOIS (RUPICAPRA-PYRENAICA PARVA) IN NORTHWESTERN SPAIN

In May of 1993, an epizootic of sarcoptic mange (Sarcoptes scabiei) wa s detected in the chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica parva) population of th e Cantabrian Mountains in northwestern Spain. The epizootic initially spread across an area inhabited by some 1600 chamois. Mortality was lo wer than reported for other populations of ungulates. The maximum numb er of animals were affected from February to May. Four red deer (Cervu s elaphus) and a roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), were diagnosed with s arcoptic mange from the same area in 1995. In these chamois mange was not correlated with host age or sex. The health and physiological stat us of this chamois population were not predisposing factors in the app earance of the mange epizootic. The clinical, epidemiological, serolog ical, pathological and parasitological findings of this epizootic from May 1993 to June 1995 are described in this report. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.