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**233**

**Chapter 13**

**Abstract**

**1. Introduction**

*gallinae*)

*and José de la Fuente*

Challenges for the Control of

Poultry Red Mite (*Dermanyssus* 

*José Francisco Lima-Barbero, Margarita Villar, Ursula Höfle* 

The Poultry Red Mite, *Dermanyssus gallinae*, is an ectoparasite which is considered the major pest for the egg-laying industry. The mite hides in crevices and cracks during daylight and feed on the blood of the hens in the darkness. It can also parasitize other bird and mammal species, including man that can develop gamasoidosis when bitten at work or private residences. The control of the mite infestations has relied in synthetic acaricides, but the development of resistances and the restricted list of authorized products make fundamental the development of novel control measure. The combination of alternative control measures, such as monitoring of the mite infestation, plant-derived products, inner dusts, biological control and vaccines, poses as the best way for achieving satisfactory results.

The poultry red mite (PRM), *Dermanyssus gallinae* (De Geer, 1778), is a hematophagous mite that affects mainly poultry [1] but also parasitizes other avian [2] and mammalian hosts [3–5], including humans [6]. PRM has a worldwide distribution and it constitutes a serious problem for the European egg-laying industry where the average prevalence is 80% with some countries reaching a prevalence higher than 90% of the farms affected [1]. PRM infestation is associated with severe economic losses in the egg production industry [7], also causing health and welfare issues in the hens [7–9]. Additionally, the PRM has shown to be a mechanical vector

The control of PRM is mainly based on the use of synthetic acaricides. However, synthetic acaricides have important limitations such as the development of resistant mite populations, environmental contamination and limited efficacy for controlling already settled infestations [1, 10]. Thus while research focused on *D. gallinae* was previously scarce, it increased significantly in recent years probably due to the support received due to the growing impact of mite infestations on the egg-laying industry [10]. The limitations of the conventional control measures make research on alternative control measures as one of the leading research topics in recent years. Amongst those control measures, vaccination poses a promising effective and

**Keywords:** *Dermanyssus*, poultry, mite, zoonosis, control, vaccines

for multiple pathogenic viruses and bacteria [1].

environmentally sound intervention.
