Human lesions are usually transient and should resolve spontaneously after the affected dogs have been treated. Clinical signs show a pet that is intensely itchy. Skin lesions include ear margin scaling, lesions around the eyes, and trunk of the body. There is poor response to anti-inflammatory drugs. Differential diagnosis included, flea allergic dermatitis, food allergy, contact dermatitis, demodecosis, yeast infection, and primary skin infection.
Diagnosis is made by identification of the mite on skin scraping.
False negative scrapings are common as the mite is difficult to find on skin scraping. We recommend treating all pets if there is a high index of suspicion even if scraping are negative. Any dog with nonseasonal itching that responds poorly to anti-inflammatory therapy should be treated. We recommend either Ivermectin or the use of Pfizer's new product Revolution, applied eyery two weeks for 3-6 treatments. All dogs in the household must be treated.