Scabies and rabitts

Question
My daughter (2 yrs)had recently diagnosed with scabies and I was horrified.  I couldn't believe it because I considered myself very hygienist.  Although my neighbor take care of her she is the only child in her house. One of my friend told me that she might got scabies from the urine of a recently rabbit my son (5 yrs) won at his summer camp, how true can this be? Is it real that the rabbit urine is very poisonous that she can get scabies just because she might got in touch with the damp newspapper from the cage?

Answer
Dear Khyrystie,

No one can get scabies from contacting rabbit urine.  Scabies is caused by a mite that inhabits the skin, and it is not found in the urine.  

It's far more likely that your daughter contracted the parasites from another child, and not the rabbit.  Sarcoptes scabei, the mite that causes "scabies", *can* be found in rabbits, but it is not as common as other rabbit mites that are not transmitted to humans.  

You can get a nice overview here:

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Skin_diseases_main.htm

Just scroll down to the sections on skin parasites.

If you suspect your rabbit might have mites (you can see pictures of rabbits with mange and other types of mites here:  www.bio.miami.edu/hare/furloss.html), then these are very easily treated with Revolution (selamectin) from your vet.  DO NOT use Frontline, as this can be deadly to rabbits.

For more information on proper care of the bunny, please visit:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/firstrabbit.html

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/diet.html

and

www.rabbit.org/

I hope this helps.

Dana