Mange mites of sheep and goats in selected sites of Eastern Amhara region, Ethiopia.

A cross sectional study of small ruminant mange mites was conducted from November 2011 to April 2012 on a total of 324 sheep and 680 goats, to determine the prevalence of mange mites in sheep and goats, identifying the major species of mite and to determine the potential risk factors significantly predicting the disease. The result showed an overall mange mite prevalence of 7.5 % (95 % CI 5.5-9.5) in goats and 1.2 % (95 % CI 0.5-1.9) in sheep. The mites identified were Sarcoptes and Demodex in goats and Sarcoptes and Psoroptes in sheep. The prevalence of mange mites was significantly higher in goats than in sheep (χ(2) = 16.636, P = 0.000). There was higher prevalence of mange mites in poor body condition than good body condition sheep and goats and the difference was statistically significant (χ(2) = 5.513, P = 0.019 in sheep and χ(2) = 141.85, P = 0.000 in goats). But age and sex of the host animals and agro climates were not statistically significant predictors of prevalence of mange mite. This study demonstrated that mange mites are among the major parasitic health problems of shoats in Eastern Amhara region that require urgent control intervention.