Sarcoptic-mange detector dogs used to identify infected animals during outbreaks in wildlife

Abstract

Background: One of the main aims of forensic investigation is the detection and location of people and substances of interest, such as missing people and illegal drugs. Dogs (Canis lupus var. familiaris) have had an important role in legal and forensic investigations for decades; nonetheless canines' keen sense of smell has never been utilized in either the surveillance or control of wildlife diseases. The rapid removal and treatment of infected carcasses and/or sick animals is a key task in the management of infectious diseases, but it is usually difficult or impractical to carry out in the wild.

Results: In this paper we report on a study running over a period of 15 years, in which - for the first time to our knowledge - two disease-detector dogs were trained to follow the scent of Sarcoptes-infected animals and to find carcasses, even under the snow, and apparently no false positives were detected in fieldwork. Sarcoptic mange-detector dogs were used to collect the carcasses of 292 mangy wild animals and to identify, separate from their herd, and capture 63 mange-infected wild animals in the Italian Alps.

Conclusions: Properly trained disease-detector dogs are an efficient and straightforward tool for surveillance and control of sarcoptic mange in affected wild animal populations.

Figure 1

Photos of decomposed carcasses, and sick Alpine chamois and Alpine ibex showing mangy lesions.

Figure 2

Photo of laboratory-like conditions, showing the trained dogs with the carcasses of mangy Alpine chamois.

Figure 3

Photos showing the handler and the trained disease-detector dogs in the field, and a number of Alpine chamois carcasses collected from under the snow cover. The handler, Roberto Permunian, is consented to the use of his image for publication purposes.

Figure 4

Number of mangy carcasses and euthanized Alpine chamois identified, separated from the herd, and captured with the aid of disease-detector dogs between 1995 and 2010.

Figure 5

Monthly patterns of mangy carcasses and euthanized Alpine chamois localized with the aid of disease-detector dogs between 1995 and 2010. Blue color represents the first Sarcoptes epidemic wave between 1995 and 2000. Red color represents the second epidemic wave between 2000 and 2010.