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23 May 2019 Severe Trombiculiasis in Hunting Dogs Infested With Neotrombicula inopinata (Acari: Trombiculidae)
M. Areso Apesteguía, J. B. Areso Portell, N. Halaihel Kassab, M. J. Gracia Salinas
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Abstract

This study records the clinical findings in nine hunting dogs showing systemic illness associated with trombiculids and identifies the mite species involved. In fall, coinciding with the seasonality of mites, all dogs were infested with mites and had been in the risk area (Sierra Cebollera Natural Park, La Rioja, Spain) a few hours before the onset of symptoms. The symptoms included vomiting, anorexia, weakness and lethargy, diarrhea, and even stupor. The clinical picture was fast-acting and potentially fatal. The infestations varied from low to severe. Molecular analysis of mites that fed on the dogs confirmed that they were larvae of Neotrombicula inopinata (Oudemans, Acari, Trombiculidae). This is the first time that N. inopinata has been identified as feeding on dogs and implicated in canine systemic illness associated with trombiculids. In contrast to other chiggers, N. inopinata does not seem to cause dermatitis. Likewise, the clinical and epidemiological similarity between the clinical symptoms we describe herein and the occurrence of seasonal canine illness (SCI) led us to suspect that this illness may be caused by infestation with these mites. The condition could be the consequence of severe infestation from large numbers of feeding mites, especially N. inopinata. Whether or not the cases were due to a severe allergic host response to salivary proteins or the result of the transmission of a new or emerging trombiculid-borne pathogen is not known.

© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
M. Areso Apesteguía, J. B. Areso Portell, N. Halaihel Kassab, and M. J. Gracia Salinas "Severe Trombiculiasis in Hunting Dogs Infested With Neotrombicula inopinata (Acari: Trombiculidae)," Journal of Medical Entomology 56(5), 1389-1394, (23 May 2019). https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjz071
Received: 22 February 2019; Accepted: 16 April 2019; Published: 23 May 2019
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KEYWORDS
chigger mite
digestive affectation
Neotrombicula inopinata
seasonal canine illness
trombiculiasis
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