ABSTRACT
A flea larval bioassay was developed by an international team of scientists to monitor the susceptibility of fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) to imidacloprid (Advantage, Bayer HealthCare). The assay was validated using laboratory and field isolates of C. felis. Flea eggs representing different field isolates of C. felis were collected by veterinarians in the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany. Of the 972 flea isolates obtained during the 5-year study, 768 contained sufficient numbers of eggs to conduct the larval bioassay. Greater than 5% survival occurred for only six of the field isolates evaluated. Further evaluation and analysis of these isolates demonstrated that they did not differ significantly in their susceptibility to imidacloprid from the reference strains used to develop the assay. Collections of field flea isolates will continue in an attempt to detect and document any change in the susceptibility of field flea populations to imidacloprid.
Subject(s)
Biological Assay/veterinary , Ectoparasitic Infestations/veterinary , Imidazoles , Insecticides , Siphonaptera/drug effects , Animals , Biological Assay/methods , Cat Diseases/drug therapy , Cat Diseases/prevention & control , Cats , Dog Diseases/drug therapy , Dog Diseases/prevention & control , Dogs , Drug Resistance , Ectoparasitic Infestations/drug therapy , Ectoparasitic Infestations/prevention & control , Imidazoles/therapeutic use , Insecticides/therapeutic use , Larva/drug effects , Larva/growth & development , Neonicotinoids , Nitro CompoundsABSTRACT
The results of intradermal testing with three commercial flea antigens and a serological test for IgE antibodies to flea antigens were compared with live flea challenge in cats. Eight control cats with no prior flea exposure had negative serological test and flea challenge results. By contrast, 17 out of 27 cats with previous flea exposure showed immediate reactivity to flea challenge; reactivity at 6, 24 and 48 h after flea exposure was noted in 12, 16 and 21 cats, respectively. Seventeen of these cats had positive serological test results. Seven cats showed immediate intradermal test reactions to the ARTU allergen, six reacted to the Biophady allergen, and six reacted to the Greer allergen. Intradermal test reactivity was less frequent at the other time points. Using the results of the flea challenge as the 'gold standard' for the presence or absence of sensitisation to fleas, the sensitivity and specificity of the serological test was 0.88 and 0.77, respectively. Sensitivities of the intradermal tests at the four time points ranged from 0 to 0.33, whereas the specificities ranged from 0.78 to 1.0. Live flea challenge is better able to detect cats with hypersensitivity to fleas than either intradermal or serological testing.
