>I know it's unlikely, but possible for humans to contract ear mites from
>animals.  There is an anecdotal tale about the vet who gave himself ear
>mites on purpose to see what it felt like...said he could hear them
>crawling around in there, stood the discomfort for about a day before he
>treated himself.  I don't know if the mites could procreate and survive
>long term in a human.  We need a vet or maybe an entomologist for this one!
 
There is no report of Otodectes infection of humans in the medical
literature, and I think the tale of a veterinarian infecting himself is
probably an urban myth.
 
The likelihood of transmission of the mites by petting is fairly remote,
but could conceivably happen - however,the transmission is generally from
animal to animal, and with a population of cats and ferrets in the house
in question - I would think that this would probably be enough to keep the
infection going.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, dVM
 
 -----------
 
Follow up on the case of a vet giving himself ear mites.  Actually it is
a true story.  A vet from Cornell actually put ear mites into his own ear
and reported his story as a letter to the editor.  I am trying to find the
magazine, but it was actually published.
 
Odd but true,
Jerry Murray, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3481]