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PubMed2004

Field efficacy of deltamethrin for rodent flea control in San Bernardino County, California, USA.

A study was conducted to determine the initial and residual activity of deltamethrin (0.05% dust) applied to rodent burrows (at approximately 14 g/burrow) against fleas in the Silverwood Lake area of San Bernardino County. In initial toxicity (2-d post-treatment), deltamethrin provided 97% flea control and in residual toxicity it resulted in 68% control of the rodent fleas at 15-d post-treatment. The flea fauna consisted of Oropsylla montana (89.9%) and Hoplopsylls anomalus (10.1%). All rodents captured in this study were California ground squirrels, Spermophilus beecheyi. In mark-release-recapture trials, using the microchip identification implant method at the treatment site, the recapture rate of rodents was 29% from 2- to 58-d post-treatment, declining to 21% after 98 d. In the tail-clip method at the treatment site, the recapture rate of 40% at 15-d post-treatment rose to 87% and 73% at 56- and 58-d post-treatment, respectively. At the control site, the recapture rate of 100% at 15-d post-post-treatment dropped to 20% after 98 d. In another trial at Camp Cedar Crest in the Running Springs area, deltamethrin applied to rodent burrows resulted in 70% control of fleas infesting S. beecheyi. Based on the two trials, deltamethrin showed a good initial control of rodent fleas in enzootic or epizootic plague control.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Synanthropic fleas (Siphonaptera) biting people in Moscow and control of their size].

The species composition of fleas attacking man in Moscow, the time course of changes in their size, and the efficiency of disinfecting measures against them have been studied. The basement premises are the commonest habitat of fleas. The absolute predominant species in these biotopes are Cetenocephalides felis (Boushe) whose feeders are dogs, synanthropic rodents, and humans, other than cats. Micropopulations of the fleas have been existed in some structures for more than 5 years (a follow-up period). A mathematical analysis of the factors that influence the efficiency of disinfestation has established that the most influential factors were the factors associated with the poor state of basement premises (the presence of a substrate for the breeding and shelter of fleas, the possibility of homeless animals and rodents, the feeders of fleas, to penetrate there) that reduce the residual effect of insecticides. Out of 15 applied insecticides, those based on chlorpyrifos, cypermethrin, and fenvalerate showed the highest efficacy. The combined use of liquid and powered insecticides is most effective in disinfestation. The treatments made in the periods when the number of fleas is small in the basements (April-May and August-September) provide the most prolonged residual effect.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Effects of ultrasonic flea collars on Ctenocephalides felis on cats.

Ultrasonic flea collars marketed by 2 companies were evaluated for their ability to reduce flea numbers on cats with experimentally induced flea (Ctenocephalides felis) infestations. The sound output of the collars was evaluated both before and after use to ensure that the collars were functional. Each brand was evaluated on 5 cats for a 7-day period. Collars generated peak frequencies of 40 kHz and 80 to 92 dB sound pressure level at 10 cm. An average of 98.6 and 97.4% of the fleas were still on the cats after treatment and control periods, respectively. The ultrasonic flea collars were ineffective in reducing flea numbers on these cats.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Prevalence of fleas on dogs in Anambra State of Nigeria.

An examination of 338 dogs for fleas in Anambra State revealed that 28.7% of the dogs were infested. While 2.1% of the dogs harboured the poultry flea Echidnophaga gallinacea, 26.3% harboured the dog flea Ctenocephalides canis. It was considered that Ctenocephalides canis could be of great public health significance in this area in view of the high population of the flea. Elimination of the flea was therefore recommended. The populations of fleas on dogs in other areas and the distribution of Ctenocephalides species of veterinary importance in Nigeria are briefly discussed.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Productivity of cultures of 4 species of fleas in laboratory breeding].

When rearing fleas under laboratory conditions maximum productivity was observed in breeding cages with 100 fleas (80 females and 20 males). When the number of fleas was increased to 250 and 500 specimens the progeny decreased in number. At the ratio between males and females of 1 : 2 and 1 : 4 the productivity of fleas virtually did not change. Of all species studied fleas of X. cheopis are characterized by most high productivity. In all months of the year the average number of hatched fleas per one cage was 13-15 thou. of X. cheopis, 7-8 thou. of C. tesquorum, 1.5-2.5 thou. of X. skrjabini, and 3-4 thou. of Ct. wladimiri.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

A study of skin diseases in dogs and cats. V. The intradermal test in the diagnosis of flea allergy in dogs and cats.

A group of 143 dogs and cats with pruritic skin disease was tested by intradermal injection of a dilute whole cat flea extract. The test results were correlated with the clinical diagnosis (Table I, III), with previous or present findings of fleas on the animals (Table II, III), with the presence or absence of blood eosinophilia (Table IV), and, in animals with clinical flea allergy, with the histological findings in a skin biopsy excised from a clinically affected skin site (Fig. 1). The predictive value of a positive and a negative outcome of the test was assessed graphically by means of calculations described in the Appendix (Figs. 2, 3). It is concluded that the test is sufficiently specific to justify its use in animals where flea allergy is suspected but cannot be proved by routine clinical examination. The histological findings and the nature of the skin reactions suggest that a positive outcome of the test is indicative of an immediate, type I hypersensitivity towards components of the oral secretion of fleas and that this hypersensitivity is mediated by reaginic antibody which to some extent is produced by plasma cells located in skin areas where flea saliva is deposited.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

[Fleas and methods of control].

Over 2,000 species of fleas parasitize mammals and birds. A simplified study of their morphology indicates for the main identification criteria. After listing the main families of fleas, the author outlines the identification of species most often encountered by veterinarians. Knowledge of the different types of flea parasitism and their life cycles is essential for effective control measures. Control is justified by the direct and indirect pathogenic roles of fleas (transmission of plague, tularaemia, myxomatosis, Dipylidium caninum). Effective agents are organochlorine compounds, organophosphorus compounds, pyrethroids and insect growth regulators, available in various formulations to destroy parasitic fleas on animals or in the environment. A novel method is to administer a systemic growth regulator to dogs and cats, which persists in the bloodstream and inhibits the reproduction of fleas which feed on a treated animal. Advantages and disadvantages of each formulation are presented.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Severe flea infestation in dairy calves.

An investigation was conducted of a severe flea infestation in Holstein dairy calves. Inspection of the dairy revealed hundreds of cat fleas, Ctenocephalides felis, on 23 calves, and thousands of fleas in the barn where the calves were housed. During the investigation, > 92,000 fleas were collected from the barn. The barn also was inhabited by 30 to 35 flea-infested domesticated and feral cats. Several calves appeared emaciated, and analysis of blood samples from 10 calves revealed that 8 were anemic. A control program was initiated, consisting of insecticide and insect-growth regulator treatment of calves and premises, along with removal of straw bedding from the barn. In addition, domesticated cats were to be treated and feral cats were to be removed by live trapping. Nine weeks after a complete control program was initiated, fleas were not evident on calves or in the barn.

Anemia, Hypochromic↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[The fleas of mammals from the Ucayali River basin (the Peruvian Amazonia)].

The material collected from 57 specimens of 9 mammalian species in two localities of the Peruvian Amazonia includes 212 specimens of fleas belonging to four species (Polygenis klagesi, Ropalopsyllus lugubris, Rh. australis and Rothschildopsylla noctilionis). This is the first record of fleas in the Ucayali River basin. The majority of flea specimens were collected form three morphologically similar but karyotypically and electrophoretically distinct species of spiny rats of the genus Proechimys. These fleas belong to the species P. klagesi. The subspecies P. k. samuelis was collected from 32-chromosome spiny rats nearby Pucallpa (8 degrees 22' S, 74 degrees 43' W), whereas in the locality nearby the village Jenaro Errera (4 degrees 52' S, 73 degrees 39' W) only the nominative subspecies P. k. klagesi were collected from all three species of spiny rats. Other species of fleas have relatively less abundance. Six fleas Rh. l. lugubris were found on one specimen of Cuniculus paca; a single Rh. australis--on one specimen of Myoprocta pratti; and a single R. noctilionis--on one specimen of Eptesicus brasiliensis.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Temephos collars for control of fleas on dogs and cats.

Efficacy of polyvinyl chloride collars containing temephos [0,0'-(thiodi-4,1-phenylene) 0,0,0',0'-tetramethyl bis-(phosphorothioate)] was elevaluated in dogs and cats against the cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis). Over a period of 42 weeks, collared (treated) and control dogs were experimentally infested with 100 fleas 23 times, and control and treated cats were similarly infested 20 times during a 41-week period. Flea populations on treated dogs were reduced by 80% or more for at least 36 weeks. Initially, flea reduction by 80% occurred within 1 day, but in dogs wearing the same collars for 26 weeks, this reduction occurred in 3 to 6 or more days. Only during the first 2 weeks of wearing the collars were all fleas killed on all dogs within a 6-day period after infestation. Residual efficiency was lowest on highly active dogs and greatest on inactive dogs. The residual efficiency on cats was somewhat better than on dogs. At the end of 41 weeks, collars on cats reduced the flea population by 85 to 90% within 1 to 5 days following infestation. Collars on cats, as on dogs, were 100% efficacious only during the first 2 weeks of the trial.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Transovarial transmission of murine typhus rickettsiae in Xenopsylla cheopis fleas.

It has been generally accepted that infected fleas do not pass on Rickettsia mooseri, or indeed any other known pathogen, to their progeny. It is reported here that such transovarial transmission does occur in laboratory-infected Xenopsylla cheopis fleas. By means of the direct fluorescent antibody test, Rickettsia mooseri was observed in cells of the hemolymph of infected fleas. As many as 11 percent of the adults and 2.9 percent of the larvae of the generation reared therefrom, had demonstrable rickettsiae. Moreover, batches of the F1 fleas were capable of transmitting the infection to more than 18 percent of the rats they infested. The data support the contention that Xenopsylla cheopis fleas play an important role in the maintenance of murine typhus in rats in nature.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Typhus and typhuslike rickettsiae associated with opossums and their fleas in Los Angeles County, California.

The recent discovery of cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) infected with a typhuslike rickettsia (designated the ELB agent) raises the question of whether similar rickettsial infections exist in wild cat flea populations. We verified the presence of the ELB agent and Rickettsia typhi in urban and suburban areas of Los Angeles, Calif. Opossums trapped in close proximity to the residences of human murine typhus cases in Los Angeles county and other areas within the city of Los Angeles were tested for the presence of typhus group rickettsiae by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The presence of rickettsiae in the spleen tissues of three opossums (n = 9) and in 66 opossum fleas (n = 205) was determined by PCR and was verified by dot blot and Southern transfer hybridization. Further analysis of the amplified PCR products generated by a series of primer pairs derived from either the 17-kDa antigen gene or the citrate synthase gene revealed that both R. typhi and the ELB agent were present in the tested samples. Dual infection was not noted in the samples; however, the fleas were infected with either R. typhi or the ELB agent. The presence of the ELB agent in the cat flea population may have implications for public health. Whether this agent is responsible for the mild cases of human murine typhus in urban and suburban areas of Los Angeles or in other endemic foci remains to be determined.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Rickettsia mooseri infection in the fleas Leptopsylla segnis and Xenopsylla cheopis.

Detailed observations on the acquisition and propagation of experimental Rickettsia mooseri infection in two species of fleas are presented. Rickettsia mooseri infection became detectable by means of the direct fluorescent antibody test about 2 days earlier in Leptopsylla segnis than in the putative vector, Xenopsylla cheopis. By the 6th day after the infective feeding, the entire lining and the lumen of the midgut in L. segnis contained masses of rickettsiae and the agent was being passed in the feces of the flea, whereas in X. cheopis these events did not occur until the 8th day. Basic behavioral differences in the two species of flea may explain these discrepancies and also influence their ability to serve as vectors of murine typhus. As a semisessile flea and sustained feeder, L. segnis only rarely attaches to a second individual and thus has an opportunity to acquire a heavy dose of rickettsiae, if feeding on a rickettsemic host. X. cheopis, in contrast, feeds rapidly and intermittently, even on man, and generally leaves its host soon thereafter, later returning to the same or another host to feed again. While L. segnis may not be as efficient a vector as X. cheopis regarding the intramurine cycle or transmission to man of murine typhus, the dense accumulation of infective feces on certain sites on the fur of the host raises the possibility of air-borne infection to man or rodent. Infection with R. mooseri had no effect on the survival of X. cheopis and L. segnis. Furthermore, no visible cytopathological effect was found in the paraffin-embedded sections of infected fleas.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1956

Studies on Pasteurella pestis in fleas, comparative plague-vector efficiency of Xenopsylla vexabilis hawaiiensis and Xenopsylla cheopis.

The authors report on a study carried out to determine the experimental plague-vector efficiency of X. v. hawaiiensis compared with X. cheopis after both species had been infected with a virulent Hawaiian plague strain (S113). In deriving the numerical values for vector efficiency the concepts of Wheeler and Douglas were followed with some modifications. An additional component, the blocking-survival potential, was used to obtain a vector index.The experiments showed that the mean extrinsic incubation period was shorter in X. v. hawaiiensis than in X. cheopis but that the latter species produced more blocked fleas. The observed values for vector efficiency indicate that X. cheopis was about twice as efficient in plague transmission as the Hawaiian flea. The time and percentage mortality curves of mice dying of plague after blocked fleas had fed upon them were observed to be similar to the curves of mice succumbing to the intracutaneous inoculation of known dosages of P. pestis.In general, it was found that bacteriological culture of the faecal droppings of fleas was unreliable as a check on plague infection in fleas.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Identification of the Rdl mutation in laboratory and field strains of the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae).

In many insect species, resistance to cyclodiene insecticides is caused by amino acid substitutions at a single residue (A302) within the M2 transmembrane region of the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor sub-unit termed Rdl (resistance to dieldrin). These mutations (A302S and A302G) have also been shown to confer varying levels of cross-resistance to fipronil, a phenylpyrazole insecticide with a similar mode of action to cyclodienes. To investigate the possible occurrence of these mutations in the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis (Bouché), a 176-bp fragment of the cat flea Rdl gene, encompassing the mutation site, was PCR amplified and sequenced from nine laboratory flea strains. The A302S mutation was found in eight of the nine strains analysed, although the relative frequency of the mutant allele varied between strains. Only one strain (R6) was found to be homozygous for the S302 allele in all the individuals tested, and this correlated with previous reports of low-level fipronil resistance in this strain. A PCR-based diagnostic assay, capable of screening individual fleas for this mutation, was developed and used to survey a range of fleas collected at random from veterinary clinics in the UK and USA. The A302S mutation was present at a high frequency in these domestic pet populations.

Alleles↗
PubMed1997

[Differential diagnosis of medically relevant flea species and their significance in dermatology].

Different flea species may infest humans temporarily. Such arthropods should be considered as a possible cause of erythematous and pruritic papules and nodules of unclear origin. Bites from animal fleas can be seen in people with close contact to domestic or wild animals. This dermatosis may often be misdiagnosed. Several flea species including Pulex irritans, Ctenocephalides canis, Ctenocephalides felis, Ceratophyllus gallinae, Ceratophyllus columbae and Archaeopsylla erinacei may infest human skin, causing symptoms. Flea bite-allergy and the role of various flea species as disease vectors are also discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Relationships between local and regional species richness in flea communities of small mammalian hosts: saturation and spatial scale.

The number of species coexisting in a community may be regulated by local factors (e.g., competitive interactions), or by regional processes (e.g., dispersal from a regional species pool). The relative importance of local and regional processes can be inferred from the shape of the relationship between local and regional species richness. We investigated this relationship in communities of fleas parasitic on small mammals at two spatial scales: between the richness of fleas on individual hosts (infracommunities) and that of fleas on host populations (component communities), and between the richness of component communities and that of the entire regional species pool. We tested linearity (proportional sampling) versus curvilinearity with an asymptote (species saturation) by plotting "local" against "regional" species richness of fleas either among host species or within host species among populations. At the two spatial scales, we found consistent curvilinear relationships between species richness of the more "local" communities and richness of the more "regional" communities. This was true across all host species in the data set and for geographic subsets, even after controlling for the influence of sampling effort on estimates of species richness, and that of host phylogeny in interspecific analyses. We also tested for density compensation in species-poor communities. There was no strong evidence for density compensation at the infracommunity level, although its existence at the component community level appeared likely. Our results suggest that identical patterns in local-versus-regional species richness observed on two different spatial scales arise via different mechanisms: infracommunities appear saturated with flea species most likely because of local processes, such as host immune defenses, whereas component communities are saturated with species through interspecific competition, possibly among larval stages.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Experimental quantification of the feline leukaemia virus in the cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) and its faeces.

Cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) were fed via artificial membranes and infected with the feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) from cell cultures. After removing the fleas from the blood source, the quantity of virus in the flea and its faeces was measured over a defined period of time. The virus was detectable in the fleas for up to 30 h at room temperature and up to 115 h at 4 degrees C. In the faeces, the amount of virus decreased much more slowly--after 2 weeks half of the initial amount of virus could still be detected. Thus the faeces might be a source of further infections, e.g. for the flea larvae or the cat itself.

Animals↗