Newcastle: mechanism to control poultry mites

Research lead

Bacteria that live symbiotically inside red poultry mites could provide a target for combating these blood-sucking pests, which costs Europe’s poultry industry around Euro 130 million per year.

The mite causes blood spotting on eggs, a potential source of salmonella, and makes them unfit for sale. In severe cases infested birds become anaemic and fall ill.

Scientists at Newcastle University in the UK have discovered symbiotic bacteria that live in the mites and believe they could be the route an effective control mechanism for the chicken red mite.

Currently the mites are controlled with acaricide pesticides, but there is growing resistance. In addition these chemicals cause skin rashes and dermatitis in poultry farmers, smallholders and meat packers.

“We urgently need to develop new approaches to combat these pests,” says researcher Olivier Sparagano. “If somehow we could develop a method to destabilise the symbiotic bacteria that we have discovered living inside the mites, therefore removing the beneficial effect, we could develop a new control method.”

“The bacteria are obviously very important to the mites. A new control method based on attacking the symbiotic bacteria inside the mites’ bodies would also create economic benefits through higher egg quality and production, and fewer diseases transmitted by these parasitic mites,” said Sparagano.

As well as being a direct threat to economically valuable birds, red mites are part of a wider chain, transmitting diseases to people and other animals, such as the food poisoning bacterium Salmonella, and equine encephalitis in horses.