Yes, between dogs, it is HIGHLY contagious. Humans don't have much to worry about from the dog form of scabies - if we are affected is it usually considered a mild skin irritation. But, between dogs, HIGHLY contagious and problematic.
Scabies has different forms....human scabies, dog scabies (sarcoptic mange), and cat scabies.
A little info on the subject:
Quote:
Scabies
The word "scabies" makes people cringe and their flesh crawl. Just hearing it can produce itching.
In fact, scabies is a fairly uncommon and easily treated condition that isn't even all that contagious, except in special circumstances such as in nursing homes.
Most people with scabies are just as clean and hygienic as anybody else. Dirt has nothing to do with it!
What is scabies?
Scabies refers to an infestation by the itch mite, Sarcoptes scabiei. Mites are little 8-legged beasties (in contrast to insects, which have 6 legs). They are tiny, just 1/3 millimeter long, and burrow into the skin to produce intense itching which tends to be worse at night.
How do you get scabies?
Scabies mites are very fastidious. They need a warm body and can't live without one for more than an hour or so. That is why transmitting them requires prolonged physical contact of the skin-to-skin variety. It is hard, if not impossible, to catch scabies by shaking hands, hanging your coat next to someone who has it, or even sharing bedclothes that had mites in them the night before. The physical contact required to contract scabies may of course be sexual, and scabies is more common among sexually active young people. However, other forms of physical contact, such as mothers hugging their children, is sufficient to spread the mites. Over time, close friends and relatives can contract it this way too. For this reason, scabies is not considered a sexually transmitted disease in the usual sense.
Can you get scabies from a dog?
Dogs have their own mites, which don't like humans much. Scabies on dogs is called mange. When canine mites land on human skin, they fail to thrive and produce only a mild itch that goes away on its own. This is unlike human scabies which gets worse and worse unless the condition is treated.
What does scabies look like?
Nothing very dramatic. There tend to be small bumps and blisters in the webs between the fingers, on the wrists and the backs of the elbows, in the groin and on the knees, and on the buttocks. Men sometimes get what look like juicy pimples on their penis. It is helpful to know that not every bump is a bug. In most cases of scabies in otherwise healthy adults, there are no more than 10 or 15 live mites even if there are hundreds of bumps and pimples.
Textbook descriptions of scabies always mention "burrows." These are tiny threadlike affairs, just 2 or 3 millimeters long, which appear in the finger webs and are almost impossible to see. Often mistaken for burrows are linear scratch marks that are large and dramatic and appear in people with any itchy condition. Scratching actually destroys burrows.
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08-27-2006, 11:27 PM
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