Today's Veterinary Practice

MAY-JUN 2017

Today's Veterinary Practice provides comprehensive information to keep every small animal practitioner up to date on companion animal medicine and surgery as well as practice building and management.

Issue link: http://todaysveterinarypractice.epubxp.com/i/815220

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 97 of 113

94 PRACTICAL PARASITOLOGY PEER REVIEWED is labeled for once-monthly use. Fipronil kills adult fleas and is typically formulated with an insect growth regulator. Some reports suggest that this agent may be losing efficacy, at least against certain strains of fleas. 31 Fipronil is somewhat water resistant but may not hold up if the patient requires frequent bathing or swims frequently. Indoxacarb This agent belongs to the oxadiazine pesticide class. It is considered a pro-insecticide because it requires activation by insect enzymes to become effective. 1 Once activated, it blocks sodium channels, resulting in flea paralysis and death. Indoxacarb has good water resistance but may not be sufficient in patients that require very frequent bathing or swim frequently. Indoxacarb is available as a spot-on formulation, both on its own (Activyl) and with permethrin (Activyl Tick Plus). This product is normally well tolerated, but there have been anecdotal reports of seizures, neurologic signs, and occasional application-site dermatitis (of varying severity) in both cats and dogs. Insect Growth/Development Regulators Two classes of insect growth/development regulators have been registered for use as flea control products: juvenile hormone analogs (methoprene, pyriproxyfen) and chitin synthesis inhibitors (lufenuron). 1 These agents have no adulticidal effects but prevent the development or maturation of immature flea stages. They are not well suited for use as sole flea control products but are commonly added to formulation of agents with adulticidal therapy to provide broad, multi–life stage control. CONCLUSIONS Today's veterinary practitioner has more choices than ever before when it comes to flea control. Nonetheless, there is still no single product that is ideal for use under all circumstances. Effective formulation of a flea control program requires a thorough understanding of the available products and of the individual client and patient situation. In the next article, I will discuss key factors that will allow the practitioner to select the right product for the patient. References 1. Plumb DC. Plumb's Veterinary Drug Handbook. Stockholm, WI: PharmaVet, 2015. 2. Pyrethrins. Covallis, OR: National Pesticide Information Center, 2014: 1-4. 3. Piperonyl butoxide. Covallis, OR: National Pesticide Information Center, 2000: 1-4. 4. Wisner T. Feline toxins: recognition, diagnosis, treatment. In: Little SE, ed. August's Consultations in Feline Internal Medicine. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier; 2016:798. 5. Malik R, Ward MP, Seavers A, et al. Permethrin spot-on intoxication of cats Literature review and survey of veterinary practitioners in Australia. J Feline Med Surg 2010;12(1):5-14. 6. Bossard RL, Dryden MW, Broce AB. Insecticide susceptibilities of cat fleas (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) from several regions of the United States. J Med Entomol 2002;39(5):742-746. 7. Lemke LA, Koehler PG, Patterson RS. Susceptibility of the cat flea (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) to pyrethroids. J Econ Entomol 1989;82(3):839-841. 8. Bass C, Schroeder I, Turberg A, et al. Identification of mutations associated with pyrethroid resistance in the para-type sodium channel of the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis. Insect Biochem Mol Biol 2004;34:1305-1313. 9. Rust MK, Vetter R, Denholm I, et al. Susceptibility of adult cat fleas (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) to insecticides and status of insecticide resistance mutations at the Rdl and knockdown resistance loci. Parasitol Res 2015;114(1):7-18. 10. Vo DT, Hsu WH, Abu-Basha EA, Martin RJ. Insect nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonists as flea adulticides in small animals. J Vet Pharmacol Ther 2010;33(4):315-322. 11. Arther RG, Cunningham J, Dorn H, et al. Efficacy of imidacloprid for removal and control of fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) on dogs. Am J Vet Res 1997;58(8):848-850. 12. Stanneck D, Kruedewagen, EM, Fourie JJ, et al. Efficacy of an imidacloprid/flumethrin collar against fleas, ticks, mites and lice on dogs. Parasit Vectors 2012;5(1):102-108. 13. Dryden MW, Smith V, Davis WL, et al. Evaluation and comparison of a flumethrin-imidacloprid collar and repeated monthly treatments of fipronil/(s)-methoprene to control flea, Ctenocephalides f. felis, infestations on cats for eight months. Parasit Vectors 2016;9(1):287. Cherie Pucheu-Haston Cherie Pucheu-Haston, DVM, PhD, is an associate professor of veterinary dermatology and immunology at Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine. She received her DVM from Louisiana State University and completed her residency at North Carolina State University (NCSU). She worked as a specialist in private practice for 7 years, then returned to NCSU to pursue a PhD in immunology. She is serving as the American co-chair of the International Committee on Allergic Diseases in Animals. Her interests include the immunology of allergic skin and pulmonary diseases, as well as the immune response to fungal infections.

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Today's Veterinary Practice - MAY-JUN 2017