Experimental infection of the domestic donkey (Equus asinus asinus) with a goat strain of Sarcoptes scabiei, and treatment with ivermectin

Donkeys were experimentally infected with Sarcoptes scabiei from goats, proving that this mite is not completely host specific. The lesions produced on the donkeys were characterized by extensive areas of alopecia, covered with thin crusts and bran-like scales. The skin had many excoriations but showed no cracks or fissures. Skin scrapings from the experimental lesions in donkeys contained numerous mites of all stages and skin sections showed severe histopathological changes, proving that the goat mites had become well established and were reproducing actively in experimental lesions. Treatment of the donkeys with ivermectin produced excellent and rapid cure.