Data from: The cascading pathogenic consequences of Sarcoptes scabiei infection that manifest in host disease

Sarcoptic mange, caused by the parasitic mite Sarcoptes scabiei, causes a substantive burden of disease to humans, domestic animals, and wildlife, globally. There are many effects of S. scabiei infection, culminating in the disease which hosts suffer. However, major knowledge gaps remain on the pathogenic impacts of this infection. Here, we focus on the bare-nosed wombat host (Vombatus ursinus) to investigate the effects of mange on: (i) host heat loss and thermoregulation, (ii) field metabolic rates, (iii) foraging and resting behaviour across full circadian cycles, and (iv) fatty acid composition in host adipose, bone marrow, brain, and muscle tissues. Our findings indicate that mange infected V. ursinus lose more heat to the environment from alopecia affected body regions than healthy individuals. Additionally, mange infected individuals have higher metabolic rates in the wild. However, these metabolic demands are difficult to meet, since infected individuals spend less time foraging and more time inactive relative to their healthy counterparts, despite being outside of the burrow for longer. Lastly, mange infection results in altered fatty acid composition in adipose tissue, with increased amounts of omega-6 acids, and decreased amounts of omega-3 acids, a consequence of chronic cutaneous inflammation and inhibition of anti-inflammatory responses. These findings highlight the interactions of mange induced physiological and behavioural changes, and have implications for the treatment and rehabilitation of infected individuals.

由寄生疥螨（Sarcoptes scabiei）引起的疥螨病（Sarcoptic mange），在全球范围内给人类、家养动物及野生动物带来了沉重的疾病负担。疥螨（S. scabiei）感染可引发多种病理效应，最终导致宿主罹患该疾病，但目前学界对该感染的致病机制仍存在大量认知空白。本研究以裸鼻袋熊（Vombatus ursinus）为宿主模型，探究疥螨病对以下四方面的影响：（i）宿主的热量散失与体温调节能力；（ii）野外代谢率；（iii）完整昼夜节律周期内的觅食与休憩行为；（iv）宿主脂肪组织、骨髓、脑组织及肌肉组织中的脂肪酸组成。研究结果显示，相较于健康个体，感染疥螨病的裸鼻袋熊（V. ursinus）在脱毛区域向环境散失的热量更多。此外，野外环境下感染个体的代谢率更高。但此类代谢需求难以得到满足：尽管感染个体在洞穴外停留的时间更长，但相较于健康个体，其觅食时长更短、静息时长则更长。最后，疥螨感染会导致脂肪组织的脂肪酸组成发生改变，具体表现为ω-6脂肪酸（omega-6）含量升高、ω-3脂肪酸（omega-3）含量降低，这一现象是慢性皮肤炎症与抗炎反应受抑制共同作用的结果。本研究揭示了疥螨病诱导的生理与行为变化之间的相互关联，其研究结果对感染个体的治疗与康复具有重要指导意义。