Chicken mite (Dermanyssus gallinae) infesting a dog

The cosmopolitan chicken-mite (Dermanyssus gallinae) is a widespread and well-known pest of poultry in New Zealand. Laird (1950) reported it infesting man at two localities, Parengarenga Harbour and Whenuapai, but to our knowledge it has not otherwise been reported from non-avian hosts in New Zealand. Elsewhere (Laird, 1950) it has been recorded infesting a variety of birds, usually domestic and semi-domestic species, but in the absence of its normal hosts will also attack man, horses and certain other mammals. Its occurrence on a dog has not been reported previously in New Zealand. In the case reported here a 6-month-old golden cocker spaniel dog from the Arrowtown area was presented for further treatment of dystichiasis in October 1971 at Queenstown. Examination after administration of general anaesthetic revealed many small white mites crawling in the hair and migrating freely to and from the dog…