Experimental canine scabies in humans.

Adult female Sarcoptes scabiei var. canis mites were applied to human skin for 96 hours in an experimental chamber. Clinical lesions produced during this period were studied histologically. The organisms burrowed, defecated, and laid up to nine eggs that developed normally. Two eggs hatched after removal from the host. A life cycle was not completed during this short experiment, but these results suggest canine scabies are capable of such activities on human skin.