title: Sarcoptic mange in the Scandinavian wolf Canis lupus population.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sarcoptic mange, a parasitic disease caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei, is regularly reported on wolves Canis lupus in Scandinavia. We describe the distribution and transmission of this parasite within the small but recovering wolf population by analysing 269 necropsy reports and performing a serological survey on 198 serum samples collected from free-ranging wolves between 1998 and 2013.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The serological survey among 145 individual captured Scandinavian wolves (53 recaptures) shows a consistent presence of antibodies against sarcoptic mange. Seropositivity among all captured wolves was 10.1 % (CI. 6.4 %-15.1 %). Sarcoptic mange-related mortality reported at necropsy was 5.6 % and due to secondary causes, predominantly starvation. In the southern range of the population, seroprevalence was higher, consistent with higher red fox densities. Female wolves had a lower probability of being seropositive than males, but for both sexes the probability increased with pack size. Recaptured individuals changing from seropositive to seronegative suggest recovery from sarcoptic mange. The lack of seropositive pups (8-10 months, N = 56) and the occurrence of seropositive and seronegative individuals in the same pack indicates interspecific transmission of S. scabiei into this wolf population.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We consider sarcoptic mange to have little effect on the recovery of the Scandinavian wolf population. Heterogenic infection patterns on the pack level in combination with the importance of individual-based factors (sex, pack size) and the north-south gradient for seroprevalence suggests low probability of wolf-to-wolf transmission of S. scabiei in Scandinavia.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Applied Ecology and Agricultural Sciences, Hedmark University College, Campus Evenstad, N-2480, Koppang, Norway. boris.fuchs@hihm.no.
authors.forename: Boris
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3412-3490
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fuchs
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Applied Ecology and Agricultural Sciences, Hedmark University College, Campus Evenstad, N-2480, Koppang, Norway.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zimmermann
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Applied Ecology and Agricultural Sciences, Hedmark University College, Campus Evenstad, N-2480, Koppang, Norway.
authors.forename: Petter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wabakken
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, Immunobiology and Parasitology, National Veterinary Institute, SE-75189, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Set
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bornstein
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-73091, Riddarhyttan, Sweden.
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Månsson
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Applied Ecology and Agricultural Sciences, Hedmark University College, Campus Evenstad, N-2480, Koppang, Norway.
authors.forename: Alina L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-73091, Riddarhyttan, Sweden.
authors.forename: Olof
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Liberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-73091, Riddarhyttan, Sweden.
authors.forename: Håkan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sand
authors.affiliation: Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-90183, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Jonas
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kindberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Wildlife Disease, National Veterinary Institute, SE-75189, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Erik O
authors.initials: EO
authors.lastname: Ågren
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Applied Ecology and Agricultural Sciences, Hedmark University College, Campus Evenstad, N-2480, Koppang, Norway.|Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-90183, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Jon M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Arnemo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D012520:Sarcoptes scabiei; D012532:Scabies / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D012537:Scandinavian and Nordic Countries / Q000453:epidemiology; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D019596:Wolves / Q000469:parasitology*
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies
keywords: Canis lupus; ELISA; Ectoparasites; Grey wolf; Red fox; Sarcoptes scabiei; Sarcoptic mange; Vulpes vulpes; Wildlife disease