Fleas of cats and dogs Flashcards
Fleas tend to not affect which animals?
Livestock
What colour are fleas? Which pair of legs is longest
Dark brown
3rd (last pair)
What are the names of the combs found on fleas? Where are they found?
Ctenidae
Head, ventral, posterior
Why are fleas laterally compressed? What is the function of the body spines?
To fit between hairs
Prevent removing during grooming
How should a flea slide be prepared?
10% KOH
Dehydrate
Xylene then DPX
What provides energy for the back legs of fleas?
Resilin - protein containing energy
Key to jumping - more resilient = further distance
What is the general life cycle for fleas (and most ectoparasites)?
Eggs
Larva
Pupa
Adult
Fleas where can important role for pathogenesis of which disease?
Plague - caused by Yersinia pestes
Spread by rodent fleas
What is the most common skin problem in cats?
Fleas
What do fleas cause?
Intense irritation Anaemia FAD - flea allergy dermatitis Skin reactions/dermatitis in people Vectors of disease (bartonella = cat scratch disease)
What is the most important flea in cats and dogs?
Ctenocephalides felis
How is Ctenocephalides felis infestation diagnosed?
Adults seen grossly
Pruritis
Faeces (flea dirt) - put onto white tissue and squish - red
What is flea allergy dermatitis? What are the symptoms?
Hypersensitivity to allergens in flea saliva
Alopecia, XS grooming, skin damage
Whta is the cat flea life cycle?
Adult takes multiple blood meals throughout day
Lay eggs that fall to ground
Hatch - pupal can survive for a year
What stage of flea life cycle is not killed by insecticides?
Pupa
What is the pupal window of flies?
Time it takes adult to emerge
Flea larvae are geotactic. What does this mean? What are they susceptible to?
Move towards gravitational force
Desiccation
Flea larvae can ingest eggs and then the animal swallows the flea. What does this caused?
Tapeworm (platyhelminths)
What adulticide drugs can be used for flea treatment? Roughly how long do they last?
Fipronil, imidacloprid
1 month
What can be used to control immature growth stages of fleas? Give an example
Insect growth regulators
Chitin inhibitors - cyromazine
Juvenile hormone analogues- methoprene
Why must insect growth regulators and fipronil/imidacloprid be given together to clear flea infestations?
IGRs affect immature stages
Imidacloprid/fipronil are adulticides
Doesn’t break full life cycle
Takes 2-4 months to clear infested house
