Epidemiological Studies of Egyptian Buffaloes Mange with Special Reference to Efficacy of Different Therapeutic Trials for Treatment of Mange

The present study was conducted on 280 Egyptian buffaloes (Bubalis bubalus) during the period from June 2008 to July 2009. These animals belong to different villages in Assiut Governorate, Upper Egypt. The age of these animals ranged from less than one year to above eight years old. Examination of diseased animals revealed that they suffered from itching, loss of patches of hair in different regions of the body with appearance of scales on the skin. The more common sites of infestation were the head, neck and the base of the tail. In this study skin scrapings were examined microscopically revealed that Sarcoptic spp. and Psoroptic spp. were identified from Egyptian buffaloes in Upper Egypt in percentage of 11.78%and 8.57%, respectively, with overall percentage of 20.35%. Infestation by Sarcoptic mange mites (57.89%) was recorded to be the most frequent in the examined cases, followed by Psoroptes spp. mites (42.10%). Statistical analysis of some ecological parameters reveled that there is a significant relationship between prevalence of mange mite infesting buffaloes and season, age, housing management as well as regular or irregular using acaricides. Moreover, this study included using different methods of clinical therapeutic trails. The infested buffaloes with mange mites were classified into four groups. The first one received two doses of Ivermectin (Ivomec, Merial), 10 days apart at dose rate of 200 μg/kg subcutaneously. The second group received two doses of doramectin (Dectomax, Pfizer, Egypt) a, 10 days apart at dose rate of 200 μg/kg subcutaneously. The third group received two doses of Ivermectin (Ivomec, Merial), 10 days apart at dose rate of 200 μg/kg subcutaneously, Adjunct to this drug, Deltamethrin (Butox-50, Intervet) was applied to the surrounding environment (bedding material, wall, fomites, etc....) twice at a 10 days interval. All cases were isolated in a separate place during treatment period. The fourth group received two doses of doramectin (Dectomax, Pfizer, Egypt) a, 10 days apart at dose rate of 200μg/ kg subcutaneously, Adjunct to this drug, Deltamethrin (Butox-50, Intervet) was applied to the surrounding environment twice at a 10 days interval. We found that administration of ivermectin or doramectin adjunct with treatment of animal environment is the best protocol for eradication and prevention of mange mite from infested buffaloes with mange mite and its environment. INTRODUCTION: Dairy farmers face lots of new challenge today, one of those being the race to higher Ass. Univ. Bull. Environ. Res. Vol. 14 No. 1, March 2011 -10healthy condition of their animals. In dealing with this objective, buffaloes’ mange is the major veterinary problems in most of the developed and under-developed countries of the world. Mange in buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) is an economically important and a highly contagious disease that can be transmitted between animals by direct contact with infested animal and indirect contact by fomites especially in tropical and subtropical area (Azhar Maqbol et al., 1995; Jabeen et al., 1998; Azam et al., 2002; Radostits et al., 2007 and Jones et al., 2008). The economical value of mange in an infested animal comes from, reduced daily weight gain, cost of treatments, damage to the hides due to perforation of the skin and intense pruritus as skin lesions may cover almost the entire body and occasional mortalities in untreated calves, (Lonneux et al., 1998 and Rehbein et al., 2002). Moreover, mange has great zoonotic and public health importance (Chakrabarti et al., 1981; Shalaby and Gupta 2000). In addition, mange can severely reduce the well being of dairy animals as reducing the vitality and increased susceptibility to other diseases due to secondary bacterial infection. It can reduce milk yield and hamper the milking process due to the restlessness of affected animals (Schoett et al., 2002). Worldwide losses from mange mites on livestock production have been estimated to amount to US$ 14.4 million (Drummond et al., 1981). Most types of mange are forms of allergic dermatitis, characterized by encrustation, alopecia, and pruritus, initiated and maintained by a number of mite species. All the major mange mite species are contained within the orders Astigmata and Prostigmata. The Astigmata are a well-defined group of slowmoving, weakly sclerotised mites, including the medical or veterinary important families Sarcoptidae and Psoroptidae. The clinical findings varied based on the mite species and severity of infestation (Dräger and Paine 1980). Mites in the family Sarcoptidae are obligate parasites, burrowing into the skin of mammals. The itch mite (Sarcoptes scabiei) is the cause of scabies in humans and mange in a wide range of domestic and wild mammals throughout the world, generally affecting the sparsely haired parts of the body. S. scabiei var. bovis affects cattle world-wide with infestations generally located at the base of the tail, the inner thigh, under the neck and the brisket. Although disease is generally subclinical in United Kingdom, generalized infestations can occur (Bates, 1997). Mites burrow into the epidermis and feed on tissue fluids. The burrowing and feeding of the mite causes irritation and consequential scratching, leading to inflammation and exudation to form crusts. S. scabiei can temporarily infest humans (Bates, 2000a). Mites in the family Psoroptidae are oval, non-burrowing mites, parasitic on mammalian skin. Three genera, Psoroptes, Chorioptes and Otodectes are of veterinary importance, although the latter (being a parasite of the ears of carnivores) is of no direct significance to Ass. Univ. Bull. Environ. Res. Vol. 14 No. 1, March 2011 -11livestock production. Bovine Psoroptic mange begins as moist plaques of hair over the withers, followed by intense pruritus with active rubbing against fixed equipment, leading to loss of hair, serum exudation, ulceration and bleeding. Eventually, thickened, scabby lesions, oozing blood and serum, progress over the withers and tail-head, before extending along the back and down the flanks and legs (Linklater and Gillespie, 1984). Pyoderma is common due to secondary bacterial infections (Baker, 1999). Knowledge of ecological parameters (Bad management, housing and care of the animal which include feeding, handling and disposal of manure, general sanitation in the stable, overcrowding, separation between susceptible and infested) is considered an extrinsic secondary determinant and probably the key for controlling and eradicating mange in cattle (Brien, 1999; Smith, 2006). In Upper Egypt, limited clinical study on sporadic cases of buffalo mange (Zaitoun et al., 1998), while the causes and associated factors of Psoroptic infestation in buffalo have been described in Nile Delta region by El-khodery et al. (2009). The currently available tools for mange control consist of chemical technology, relying on treatments with different application methods and/or formulations of acaricides. These can be used with the benefit of local epidemiological knowledge. Farmers and veterinarians implement treatments against mange most commonly when the disease is evident. Highly effective treatments such as those given during the “cryptic phase” using macrocyclic lactones (largely doramectin), are a very good strategy for eradicating mange because they eliminate the source of infection for the next season (Bates, 1998; Bisdorff and Wall, 2008). Over the past 20 years, ivermectin (0.2 mg/kg) given twice at 7 days interval (Campbell, 1985; Şuteu 1995 and Radostits et al., 1994) has been used as treatment for outbreaks of mange in ruminant. In recent years, doramectin (Dectomax, Pfizer) has also been used at a dosage of 0.2 mg/kg b.w., repeated after 7 days to control mange population (Şuteu and Cozma, 2004). This latter drug has also been used successfully as a single injection at 300 μg/kg b.w. (Bates et al., 1995). The efficacy of these acaricides often relies on parasitological and clinical improvement (Logan et al., 1993). Doramectin and ivermectin were recorded to provide rapid and high efficacy on mange in buffalo compared with Amitraz (Bala and Rath 2006). Despite its importance, mange has not been given due attention and its prevalence is still unknown in many areas of Upper Egypt. Keeping in view the importance of mange mites, this study was planned to determine the prevalence and risk factors associated with spread of Sarcoptic spp and Psoroptes spp. mites in buffalo as well as some clinical therapeutic trials on buffaloes’ mange. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Animals and data collection: Ass. Univ. Bull. Environ. Res. Vol. 14 No. 1, March 2011 -12A total of 280 buffalo at different localities of villages from Assiut governorate, Egypt were studied from June 2008 to July 2009. The animals’ identification, age, sex were recorded. A questionnaire was done about animals' management, general health history, skin lesions, presence of other animals related to it, using of acaricides, and time interval to last ectoparasite treatment. All buffaloes were examined clinically. Clinical examination: Animals under investigation were clinically examined on the day of the first visit. Buffaloes with skin lesions were examined for lesions, body condition and appetite. Parasitological examination: 280 Egyptian buffalo were selected randomly for parasitological examination after clinical investigation. Deep skin scrapings from the edges of the clinical lesions were collected in labeled Petri dishes. The edges of which were smeared with vaseline so as to prevent the mites from escaping. The dishes containing scrapings were warmed to a temperature just sufficient to be tolerated on the back of the hand (about 38 C) and later examined under a stereoscopic microscope for the presence of different stages of mites. The scrapings found negative for mites were transferred to test tubes containing 10 ml of 10% KOH and heated for five min in a beaker containing water; later the tubes were centrifuged for three minutes at 2,000 rpm and the supernatant fluid was discarded. About 5 ml of water was added to the sediment and the tubes were again centrifuged. The supernatant fluid was again discarded and a drop of sediment was examined microscopically for the presence of mites and their eggs (Tikram and Ruprah, 1986). Therapeutic trial of infested animals: Thirty two buffalo with typical lesions of mange, harboring Sarcoptic mites, were allocated randomly into four groups (8 buffalo each). The first one received two doses of Ivermectin (Ivomec, Merial), 10 days apart at dose rate of 200 μg/kg subcutaneously. The second group received two doses of doramectin (Dectomax, Pfizer, Egypt) a, 10 days apart at dose rate of 200 μg/kg subcutaneously. The third group received two doses of Ivermectin (Ivomec, Merial), 10 days apart at dose rate of 200 μg/kg subcutaneously, Adjunct to this drug, Deltamethrin (Butox-50, Intervet) was applied to the surrounding environment (bedding material, wall, fomites, etc....) twice at a 10 days interval. All cases were isolated in a separate place during treatment period. The fourth group received two doses of doramectin (Dectomax, Pfizer, Egypt) a, 10 days apart at dose rate of 200 μg/kg subcutaneously, Adjunct to this drug, Deltamethrin (Butox-50, Intervet) was applied to the surrounding environment twice at a 10 days interval. The efficacy of each regimen was evaluated on the basis of clinical and parasitological cures on day zero of treatment and on days 7, 14, 21, 28 and 56 posttreatment. Moreover, Twenty four buffalo with typical lesions of mange, harboring Psoroptes mites, were allocated randomly into four groups Ass. Univ. Bull. Environ. Res. Vol. 14 No. 1, March 2011 -13(6 buffalo each) and treated as animal groups infested by Sarcoptic mites. Data on the influence of, sex, age, season, related communities, housing management and acracides use were analyzed statistically using the student T test (Comppell, 1986).