LAUSR

Skin diseases can have an adverse impact on the production in a swine herd by causing decrease in growth rate and feed efficiency. Sarcoptes scabiei var. suis is one of the most common causes of mange in domestic and wild pigs. Keeping this point in view, a study on seroprevalence and dermatopathology of Sarcoptes scabiei var. suis infestation in the pig population of Tripura has been undertaken. The presence of anti Sarcoptes antibodies (Immunoglobulin G) was detected by commercially available kit. In the present study, 189 pigs (11.81%) were found to be seropositive against Sarcoptes scabiei infestation out of 1600 screened pigs. Thirty one pigs out of 189 were found to be clinically positive and confirmed by microscopic examination. Examination of the skin scraping revealed various developmental stages viz., egg, larva, protonymph and adult of Sarcoptes mite. Occurrence of sarcoptic mange was found to be highest in young age group (67.72%, 128/189), male pigs (56.08%, 106/189) and Large White Yorkshire breed (47.08%). The highest and lowest occurrence of sarcoptic mange was noticed in winter (41.27%) and monsoon (7.94%) season, respectively. Clinical lesions were distributed most commonly in ear pinna (87.10%, 27/31) region. The presence of anti Sarcoptes antibodies was found to be highest in pigs having severe generalized skin lesions (70.0%). Histopathology of skin biopsy revealed a tunnel like ulcerated lesion in the skin with severe inflammatory cell infiltration in the core. The present study shows the high seroprevalence of Sarcoptes scabiei var. suis in pigs in Tripura state and recommends for proper control measures. However, epidemiological studies involving larger population are required for comprehensive results.