Can dogs catch scabies from humans?
On One Hand: Different SpeciesScabies in humans and mange in dogs are both caused by Sarcoptes scabiei (mites), but there are separate varieties for humans and dogs. Although the mites can travel from one host to the other, the mites generally die after a few days because they can only complete their life cycle on the host to which they are adapted. According to the University of Kentucky, human scabies mites cannot live anywhere except on a human host for more than 24 hours.On the Other: Very SimilarStudying the structure of the mites cannot identify whether they came from a dog or a human, and when scabies is common in both humans and dogs in the same community, it is unclear whether humans and dogs are both potential hosts for both kinds of mites or whether they are separate, according to “Genetically distinct Dog-derived and Human-Derived Sarcoptes scabiei in Scabies-endemic Communities in Northern Australia,” by Shelley F. Walton, et al. in the American Journal of Tropical Medicin
