Sarcoptes scabiei
From ize
S. scabiei is a parasitic mite commonly refered to as Scabies and is very abundant in the eastern North Pacific Ocean off the coast of North America.
| Taxonomy | |
|---|---|
| Kingdom: Animalia | |
| Phylum: Arthropoda | |
| Subphylum: Chelicerata | |
| Class: Arachnida | |
| Subclass: Acarina | |
| Superorder: Acariformes | |
| Order: Astigmata | |
| Suborder: Psoroptidia | |
| Superfamily: Sarcoptoidea | |
| Family: Sarcoptidae | |
| Subfamily: Sarcoptinae | |
| Genus: Sarcoptes | |
| Species: S. scabiei |
Contents |
Description
coming soon
Ecology
A parasitic mite, the females burrow into the skin of their host and travel laterally under the epidermis consuming skin cells and leaving eggs to be scratched off. They infect Humans (Homo sapiens) but can survive away from a host for one to three days or one to seven days depending on the variety. Different varieties of S. scabiei can infect most other terrestrial mammals causing what is known as mange in animals with fur. Sarcoptes scabiei usually affects only the elderly, the immunodepressed, and the closely confined. [1]
Color
Transparent and largely invisible
Misidentification
A scabies infection in humans and pigs is easily mistaken for a skin rash caused by the excessive scratching resulting from the infection. Mange appears as greasy, thin, and otherwise unhealthy fur in areas affected and is often confused for simply messy or unhealthy fur. S. scabiei burrows are also difficult to find due to the scratching of the area that they induce and their small and transparent nature [2]
Life Cycle
Reproduction begins when S. scabiei females deposit eggs in burrows under the epidermis (note that this only occurs in humans with S. scabiei var. hominis). The eggs then hatch, often after being scratched off and transferred to another patch of skin through prolonged contact or through prolonged contact with textiles like bedding or clothes. Larvae are then released which migrate to body hairs and which they feed on as they molt into nymphs. Females molt one more time than males becoming larger before finding a thin relatively hairless patch of skin to make its own burrow in; whereas males travel on top of the epidermis to search for females to impregnate. [3]
Morphology
Both males and Females are equipped with attachment organs making them difficult to wash or scrub off. [4]
Footnotes
- ↑ United States Center for Disease Control. (n.d.). Scabies. Retreived April 28, 2008, from http://www.dpd.cdc.gov/dpdx/HTML/Scabies.htm
- ↑ United States Center for Disease Control. (n.d.). Scabies. Retreived April 28, 2008, from http://www.dpd.cdc.gov/dpdx/HTML/Scabies.htm
- ↑ (2007) Scabies Retreived April 28, 2008, from Stanford University, Human Biology/Microbiology & Immunology 103 Web Site, http://www.stanford.edu/class/humbio103/ParaSites2004/Scabies/Scabies%20Home.htm#History%20of%20Discovery
- ↑ (2007) Scabies Retreived April 28, 2008, from Stanford University, Human Biology/Microbiology & Immunology 103 Web Site, http://www.stanford.edu/class/humbio103/ParaSites2004/Scabies/Scabies%20Home.htm#History%20of%20Discovery
(2007) Scabies Retreived April 28, 2008, from Stanford University, Human Biology/Microbiology & Immunology 103 Web Site, http://www.stanford.edu/class/humbio103/ParaSites2004/Scabies/Scabies%20Home.htm#History%20of%20Discovery
United States Center for Disease Control. (n.d.). Scabies. Retreived April 28, 2008, from http://www.dpd.cdc.gov/dpdx/HTML/Scabies.htm
