Scabies can kill animals like the beloved wombat. What’s the best way to diagnose it?

burroblando/Getty Constant scratching, bumpy skin and tufts of lost fur. Those are just some of the signs an animal has scabies, a severe and potentially fatal skin disease caused by tiny mites (Sarcoptes scabiei) that burrow into skin. In humans, scabies most commonly presents as an itchy skin rash. Just this month, an outbreak of a highly infectious form of scabies shut down an entire hospital ward in the United Kingdom. When this disease affects animals, it is called sarcoptic mange. Mange…