Survey of flea infestation in cats in Spain.

Fleas are a common cause of feline skin disorders as well as vectors of zoonotic diseases. This study evaluated the flea species infesting domestic cats in Spain and assessed factors influencing their distribution. Fleas from 217 cats from 57 localities in Spain were identified and associations between abundance, and host-dependent, host habitat and environmental factors were examined. Variations in infracommunity and component community structure were also explored. Three species were present, of which Ctenocephalides felis (Bouché) (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) was the most abundant (98.4%), followed by Ctenocephalides canis (Curtis) (1.1%) and Pulex irritans (L.) (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) (0.5%). Overall abundance and abundances of both C. felis and C. canis were higher on farms than in apartments, but overall flea abundance and abundances of both C. felis and C. canis were lower in rural than urban environments. Overall abundance and C. felis abundance were lower during the warmest months, and mean annual rainfall was positively correlated with overall, C. felis and C. canis abundances. No relationship between the number of species per cat and any host, habitat or physiographical variable was found. Species richness was not correlated with mean annual temperature or rainfall. Flea abundance was mainly associated with host habitat and environmental factors.

Fleas parasitizing domestic dogs in Spain.

In addition to their importance to veterinary clinical practice as ectoparasites, fleas of domestic dogs are of special concern because they can be vectors of disease, including zoonoses. Flea assemblages parasitizing domestic dogs usually comprise several flea species whose distribution is determined by factors acting at several scales. Knowledge of these factors will aid in assessment of the distribution patterns of flea parasitism, and is an important tool in developing control strategies and in evaluation of flea-borne disease risk in dogs and humans. In this survey we used data from 744 domestic dogs from 79 localities in Spain to explore the associations between the abundance of flea species, host-dependent factors (sex and age), and host habitat factors including abode (farm, house with garden, apartment), location (urban or rural), the presence of other pets, and dog activity (measured as the frequency with which dogs left their abode). We also considered environmental factors including the time of year and mean annual temperature and rainfall. Variations in flea community structure at infracommunity and component community levels were also explored. Four flea species were found parasitizing dogs. Ctenocephalides felis was the most abundant (88.02% of fleas identified), followed by Ctenocephalides canis (10.38%), Pulex irritans (1.47%) and Echidnophaga gallinacea (0.13%). Overall flea abundance was higher on dogs living on farms than in apartments, as was the abundance of Ct. felis, Ct. canis and P. irritans. Ct. felis was more abundant on dogs living in houses than in apartments, but the reverse was found for P. irritans. Overall flea abundance and Ct. canis abundance were highest in rural areas, whereas the presence of other pets sharing the abode was associated with higher overall flea abundance and Ct. felis abundance. Only P. irritans abundance was positively related to the activity of dogs. Ct. canis and P. irritans abundances were higher during the warm period of the year. Mean annual temperature was negatively correlated with overall, Ct. canis and P. irritans abundances, but positively related to Ct. felis abundance. Annual rainfall was negatively correlated with Ct. canis and P. irritans abundances. Variations in the number of flea species found on a dog reflected the abundance distribution patterns for each species and their associations with host habitat and environmental factors. At the component community level, flea species richness was inversely related to annual mean temperature. The structure of flea assemblages on dogs was mainly associated with host habitat and environmental variables, and not with host-dependent variables. However, a large amount of variation in flea abundance remained unexplained, suggesting the effect of other non-controlled factors.

Kinetics of oestrus ovis infection and activity of adult flies.

Oestrus Ovis is a common sheep parasite in the Mediterranean region. This study was carried out in the Ebro River Valley near Zaragoza (northeast Spain) using tracer animals to describe the seasons when infestation is more likely. Based on that information and an analysis of the evolution of the parasite within the host, we suggest the most appropriate time for treatment. Adult instars appeared in May until November and there was a diapause beginning in October-November and as least until February, so it is suggested than sheep be treated with larvicide in December.

Influence of hard water on the bioavailability of enrofloxacin in broilers.

To define the impact that use of different levels of hard water has on the bioavailability of the antibacterial, enrofloxacin, in poultry, an oral bioavailability-pharmacokinetic study of the drug was carried out. Two hundred fifty clinically healthy broilers, divided into 5 groups, were individually dosed orally with 10 mg/kg of enrofloxacin diluted to 0.1%. The enrofloxacin was diluted with water of increasing hardness in accordance with an international grading system. After dosing, blood samples were obtained at predetermined times. Serum was recovered and quantified for enrofloxacin by means of an agar diffusion bacteriological method. The composite serum concentrations of enrofloxacin and metabolites vs. time relationships were analyzed using software for compartmental pharmacokinetics. Results show that there were statistically significant differences in the following pharmacokinetic variables: maximal serum concentrations (Csmax), area under the time vs. concentration curves, and half-lives of the elimination phases. The means of these values showed a linear decay of Csmax from one group to the next as water hardness increased. Chemical analysis of water calcium and magnesium ions revealed the formation of coordination groups. Lack of interference with the microbiological activity in vitro of enrofloxacin diluted in hard water indicated that diminished absorption may be partly responsible for reduction in bioavailability. These results stress the need for proper water supply when enrofloxacin is used and point out a factor that must be taken into account when clinical outcomes do not comply with expectations.

Histochemical differentiation of Dirofilaria immitis, Dirofilaria repens and Acanthocheilonema dracunculoides microfilariae by staining with a commercial kit, Leucognost-SP.

The diagnosis of canine heartworm infection is based upon the presence of circulating Dirofilaria immitis microfilariae or on techniques for the detection of serum antibodies or antigens. In the first of these, discrimination between D. immitis, D. repens and Acanthocheilonema dracunculoides microfilariae is based upon the acid phosphatase histochemical stain. In this paper, we propose an alternative technique for histochemical staining using a commercial kit test of naphthol-AS-OL (Leucognost-SP). This offers the advantages of speed and simplicity as compared to the standard Barka procedure.

Seasonal abundance of fleas (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae, Ceratophyllidae) on wild rabbits in a semiarid area of northeastern Spain.

This paper reports the annual dynamics of wild rabbit fleas in a study site located in the Middle Ebro Valley, northeastern Spain. Fleas collected directly from wild rabbits included the species Spilopsyllus cuniculi (Dale), Xenopsylla cunicularis (Smit), Echidnophaga iberica (Ribeiro, Lucientes, Osácar, and Calvete), Caenopsylla laptevi (Beaucournu, Gil-Collado and Gilot), and Pulex irritans (L.). Monthly collections of adult and larval fleas made from within the first meter of selected burrow entrances also yielded fleas belonging to the same five species. Larval specimens of X. cunicularis, E. iberica, and C. laptevi were also found. Spilopsyllus cuniculi, a winter species that can only breed during the rabbit breeding season, was common on hosts from November to April. Xenopsylla cunicularis and E. iberica were summer species, whereas C. laptevi was abundant during the autumn and winter. Xenopsylla cunicularis and E. iberica larvae were found in burrows only during April and May, whereas those of C. laptevi were collected from October to January. The data suggested that X. cunicularis and E. iberica might diapause during the egg stage whereas C. laptevi diapauses during the pupal stage.

Canine leishmaniasis transmission: higher infectivity amongst naturally infected dogs to sand flies is associated with lower proportions of T helper cells.

The dog is the main reservoir of Leishmania infantum, which is a parasite spread among canine hosts by the bite of sand flies. Phlebotomus perniciosus is the sand fly acting as a major vector in the Mediterranean basin. As a consequence, the dog will suffer from leishmaniasis. In this work the infective capacity of infected dogs, established by direct xenodiagnosis, has been investigated in relation to their immunological status by determining the lymphocyte percentages present in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. We found a significant association between the percentages of T helper cells (CD4/TcR alpha beta(+)and CD4/CD45RA(+)) and the infection rates detected in the vector, while significant association was not detected in the case of the T cytotoxic cells (CD8/TcR alpha beta(+)and CD8/CD45RA(+)). The relationship discovered was that the lower the CD4(+)T cell count, the higher the rate of the infection in the vector.

Experimental infection of Phlebotomus perniciosus and determination of the natural infection rates of Leishmania infantum in dogs.

Direct xenodiagnosis has been used to determine the infection rates in sand flies of 12 dogs parasitized by Leishmania infantum and classified in function of clinical signs. The dogs were divided into three clinical groups and no statistically significant differences in the infection rates of female sand flies were observed among them. This result indicates the epidemiological importance of asymptomatic and oligosymptomatic dogs. Indirect xenodiagnosis uses sand flies fed on the blood of dogs ex vivo. This technique was not found to be useful as an alternative to the direct method for the detection of dogs parasitized by L. infantum. The clinical worsening of the disease was not reflected in the increasing number of parasites detected in the animals' blood by the indirect technique, thereby rejecting its utility as an indicator of the prognosis of the disease.

Gastrointestinal helminth parasites in stray cats from the mid-Ebro Valley, Spain.

Gastrointestinal helminths were collected from 58 necropsied stray cats (Felis catus) in the mid-Ebro Valley, North-East Spain, from December 1989 to March 1992. The prevalence was 89.7%, with those of individual parasites being Toxocara cati 55.2%C, Ancylostoma tubaeforme 29.3% Joyeuxiella pasqualei 55.2%, Diplopylidium acanthotetra 20.7%, Dipylidium caninum 20.7%, Mesocestoides spp. 13.8%, Taenia taeniformis 8.6% and Diplopylidium nölleri 8.6%. In relation to sex, the differences were not significant. However, the season of the year significantly affected the prevalence of A. tubaeforme and D. acanthotetra.

Comparative susceptibility of Pyrenean and Brown Swiss calves to gastrointestinal nematodes in subclinical naturally acquired infections.

The susceptibility of two common breeds of cattle in the Pyrenees, Brown Swiss and Pyrenean breed, to parasitism by gastrointestinal nematodes was studied. Twenty-two female calves (13 Brown Swiss and 9 Pyrenean), 3 months old with a mean weight of 112.8 +/- 18.33 and 103.3 +/- 17.11 kg respectively at the start of the study, were used. The calves began their first grazing season grazing with 200 cattle following the traditional grazing system for mountainous areas: Stabling during winter (December-April), grazing on harvesting meadows at an elevation of 900 m in the spring (May-June) and autumn (October-November), and grazing areas between 1200-2100 m during the summer (July-September). Faeces, blood samples and calves growth rate were taken at 2-week intervals throughout the grazing season. Faecal egg counts of gastrointestinal nematodes, level of serum pepsinogen, total serum protein and blood parameters were measured. The worm egg counts and Cooperia sp. counts were significantly smaller in the calves of Pyrenean breed than in Brown Swiss throughout the experiment. Numbers of eggs of the other genera of parasites found were smaller in the calves of Pyrenean breed than in calves of Brown Swiss breed, but no statistical differences were found. Blood was compared during two periods: the prepatent and patent periods. During the first period, no differences were found between the breeds for any parameter studied. However, during the patent period, Pyrenean animals had significantly greater numbers of erythrocytes, haemoglobin values and packed cell volume (PCV) values, and smaller numbers of eosinophils than animals of the Brown Swiss breed. No differences were found in the level of serum pepsinogen, total serum protein and live weight gains between the two breeds.

Efficacy of moxidectin against gastrointestinal nematode infections in sheep.

The efficacy of moxidectin against gastrointestinal nematode infections was studied in 30 Fleischschaf x Rasa Aragonesa male lambs aged 3 months at the beginning of the experiment. The lambs were distributed in three groups of 10 animals each and experimentally infected with a mixture of an equal number of infective (L3) larvae from each of the following species: Haemonchus contortus (2000), Ostertagia circumcincta (2000), Trichostrongylus colubriformis (2000) and Trichostrongylus vitrinus (2000). Two groups of lambs were drenched with 0.2 mg moxidectin per kg body weight at 6 (Group B) and 21 (Group C) days post challenge while the third group of animals (Group A) remained untreated. The efficacy of the treatment based on worm counts 4 weeks post infection was of 100% against 4th stage larvae of all species and 100%, 99.98%, 100% and 100% against adults of H. contortus, O. circumcincta, T. colubriformis and T. vitrinus, respectively. Significant differences were found in daily weight gain between treated (Group B+C, 157.9 g day-1) and untreated lambs (Group A, 116 g day-1). No differences in feeding behaviour or health condition between treated and untreated lambs were observed.

[Viral infections associated with intestinal invagination]. / Infecciones víricas asociadas a invaginación intestinal.

Intestinal invagination is rather frequently associated with local tumors, adenovirus infections, and occasionally with Yersinia enterocolitica. However, in many cases the etiology is not known. We have studied 88 children with intestinal invagination in whom cellular cultures of Hep 2 and pulmonary fibroblasts of human embryo have been inoculated with a fecal sample. The clinical reports have been reviewed retrospectively. In 19 patients (21.59%) we obtained an adenovirus and in 12 patients (13.63%) we isolated enteroviruses. These results have been compared with a control group of 1,059 children of a comparable age and during the same period of time who were admitted because diagnoses other than intestinal invagination. All controls where subjected to viral investigation in feces following the same procedure. In 71 of controls (6.7%) there were adenovirus in feces and in 74 cases (6.98%) the culture evidenced enteroviruses. Group differences for adenovirus were statistically significant (p = 0.00000172), whereas infections for enteroviruses reached a small significance (p = 0.03892). Among the 18 patients with intestinal invagination in whom the cultures were positive for adenoviruses, 10 presented a recent high airway infection. In contrast, this infection was only observed in 3 out of the 12 patients with culture positive to enteroviruses. The etiology of intestinal invagination in a large number of patients remains to be established. There are many pathogenic intestinal viruses that might cause intestinal invagination but they may be unable to grow into cellular cultures.