Why bother treating for fleas on your pets?

December 27, 2007

Why is flea treatment of pet dogs and cats important?

Fleas are important for caring pet owners because they are the most common skin parasitic infection of dogs and cat and therefore fleas cause more skin disease than any other parasite.

But while skin disease and flea bite irritation are the most common symptoms of a flea infestation they can also be the vector for diseases such as the flea tapeworm which can cause anal irritation in affected dogs and cats. So flea treatment and an effective flea control strategy are important because if they remain most common parasitic skin disease, there is a sense in which we are not actually winning the battle against fleas.

Who’s who in the flea family

I don’t want to get into any dog versus cat debate, but within the flea world, the cat flea Ctenocephalides felis (the first “C” is silent) has generally won the war for dominance on pet dogs and cats. If a survey of a pet population is performed, then it’s likely that some dog fleas would be found, and particularly in remote areas, but this is uncommon and their numbers much lower than their cat flea counterparts. But then I guess it could also be argued that actually the terms dog fleas and cat fleas are a bit irrelevant - just because long ago a scientist named a particular flea species C. felis, does not mean that it is a “cat flea” any more than C. canis is a “dog flea”.

Of course, cats and dog’s are not just infected with their own species of flea - there are also other species such as: Pulex irritans the human flea; Leptosylla segnis the mouse flea; Spilopsyllus cuniculi the rabbit flea; and Echidnophaga gallinacea the chicken or ’sticktight’ flea. The common name of the stickfast flea is derived from the fact that on biting a host, it actually permanently attaches using it’s mouth parts. This allows it to remain attached to the pet (or chicken) long after an effective flea treatment has killed it - this may lead to the mistaken impression that the flea control product did not work effectively.

Another infamous flea is the oriental rat flea Xenopsylla cheopis. This is the flea responsible for causing so much fear in human populations in past times because it is the vector (along with the rat) of the bubonic plague or the Black Death - a bacterium called Yersinia pestis which is spread by flea bites. Naturally, the rat flea would prefer to infest rats but when rats are in close contact with humans there is the possibility of spread of the plague.

More nasty consequences!

OK, so talk of plague doesn’t scare you much because the last time that plague occurred was in an Albert Camus novel of the same name. But there are other, still very nasty zoonotic infections which fleas spread.

So called ‘cat scratch fever’ is caused by a bacterium Bartonella henselae which is spread between cats by fleas. The bacterium is actually passed in flea feces which is the likely source of contamination of cats claws during their self grooming. It is estimated that in the US around 2000 of the 24,000 people infected each year actually require hospital treatment for the infection.

Another disease being investigated by veterinary scientists is a condition called “flea borne spotted fever” or cat flea typhus, which is caused by a a bacterium called Rickettsia felis. Interestingly, research would appear to indicate that while the bacteria is present in fleas it has not been detected in cats. The signs in humans include rash, headache, and central nervous system involvement, with some sufferers reporting nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. Without doubt, cat flea typhus would not be the most pleasant way to spend a few days.

I’m listening now - what do I do about the fleas?

Sorry, you’ll have to wait for our upcoming posts on the topics of flea treatments and the commercial products that you can use to get these pests under control. Hopefully, we’ve whet your appetite for more information on this fascinating subject. :-)

If we stop for a minute to think about the flea, we know that fleas have two major phases in their life cycles. There are the on animal and off animal phases. Most commercial flea treatment products focus on the on animal phases. We’ll look at the major products from manufacturers such as Novartis, Merial and Pfizer with products such as Sentinel Spectrum® Frontline® and Revolution®. I hope you can come back over the next fortnight or so as we attempt to get to grips with flea treatment and control.

Posted in Flea facts