title: The threatening but unpredictable Sarcoptes scabiei: first deadly outbreak in the Himalayan lynx, Lynx lynx isabellinus, from Pakistan.
abstract: Although neglected, the mite Sarcoptes scabiei is an unpredictable emerging parasite, threatening human and animal health globally. In this paper we report the first fatal outbreak of sarcoptic mange in the endangered Himalayan lynx (Lynx lynx isabellinus) from Pakistan. A 10-year-old male Himalayan lynx was found in a miserable condition with severe crusted lesions in Chitral District, and immediately died. Post-mortem examination determined high S. scabiei density (1309 mites/cm(2) skin). It is most probably a genuine emergence, resulting from a new incidence due to the host-taxon derived or prey-to-predator cross-infestation hypotheses, and less probable to be apparent emergence resulting from increased infection in the Himalayan lynx population. This is an alarming situation for the conservation of this already threatened population, which demands surveillance for early detection and eventually rescue and treatment of the affected Himalayan lynx.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, Mirpur University of Science & Technology (MUST), Mirpur Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Pakistan.|Department of Zoology, Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Khalid
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hameed
authors.affiliation: Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies (IEU), University of Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zürich, Switzerland. sameralasaad@hotmail.com.|Estación Biológica de Doñana, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Avda, Américo Vespucio s/n, 41092, Sevilla, Spain. sameralasaad@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Samer
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-0868-7276
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Angelone-Alasaad
authors.affiliation: Snow Leopard Foundation, Islamabad, Pakistan.|Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Jaffar Ud
authors.initials: JU
authors.lastname: Din
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Sciences, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad Ali
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Nawaz
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Veterinarie, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Leonardo da Vinci 44, I-10095, Grugliasco, Italy.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rossi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D046008:Lynx; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D012520:Sarcoptes scabiei / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D012532:Scabies / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*
keywords: Chitral District; Emerging disease; Human-lynx conflict; Lynx lynx isabellinus; Neglected parasite; Pakistan; Sarcoptes scabiei