Efficacy of a topically applied formulation of metaflumizone on cats against the adult cat flea, flea egg production and hatch, and adult flea emergence

A spot-on metaflumizone formulation was evaluated to determine its adulticidal efficacy, effect upon egg production, and ovicidal activity when applied to flea infested cats. Eight male and eight female adult domestic shorthair cats were randomly assigned to either serve as non-treated controls or were treated topically with a minimum of 40mg/kg metaflumizone in single spot-on Day 0. On Days -2, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, and 56, each cat was infested with approximately 100 unfed cat fleas, Ctenocephalides felis felis. On Days 1, 2, and 3, and at 48 and 72h after each post-treatment reinfestation, flea eggs were collected and counted. At approximately 72h after treatment or infestation, each cat was combed to remove and count live fleas. Egg viability was determined by examining hatched eggs after 5 days and adult emergence was determined 28 days after egg collection. Metaflumizone provided >/=99.6% efficacy against adult fleas from Days 3 to 45 following a single application. Following treatment, egg production fell by 51.6% within 24h and 99.2% within 48h. Following subsequent weekly infestations egg production from treated cats was negligible out to Day 38, with >/=99.5% reduction relative to non-treated cats. Where there were eggs to evaluate, metaflumizone treatment did not have any apparent effect on the hatching of eggs or on the development and emergence of adult fleas from the eggs produced by fleas from treated animals.     

Species determination of Malaysian Bactrocera pests using PCR‐RFLP analyses (Diptera: Tephritidae)

BACKGROUND: Identification of Bactrocera carambolae Drew and Hancock, B. papayae Drew and Hancock, B. tau Walker, B. latifrons Hendel, B. cucurbitae Coquillett, B. umbrosa Fabricius and B. caudata Fabricius would pose a problem if only a body part or an immature stage were available. Analysis of polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR‐RFLP) of cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene using primers COIR, COIF, UEA7 and UEA10 and restriction enzymes (MseI, RsaI and Alu1) was carried out. The banding profiles in the electrophoresis gel were analysed. RESULTS: The COI gene in six Bactrocera spp. was successfully amplified by COIR and COIF, as well as UEA7 and UEA10, while B. caudata was amplified successfully only by UEA primers. Using COI amplified PCR products and restriction enzymes, distinct banding profiles for B. tau, B. latifrons, B. cucurbitae and B. umbrosa were observed, but not for B. carambolae and B. papayae. However, using UEA7, UEA10 and RsaI, B. caudata could be identified, while B. carambolae and B. papayae might possibly be separated from one another. It was also shown that adult body parts or immature life stages of B. carambolae, B. papayae, B. latifrons and B. cucurbitae produced the same banding profiles as the adults. CONCLUSION: PCR‐RFLP analyses are able to identify positively five Bactrocera species, while B. papayae and B. carambolae might possibly be separated from one another, even if immature life stages or adult body parts are used. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

The simulation of growth rate in grazing sheep—A comparison of the NRC and ARC feeding standards

Models, based on the source data and assumptions of the NRC (1975) and ARC (1965)/MAFF (1975) feeding standards for sheep, are described. In comparison with observed liveweight changes in grazing sheep, both models were generally able to identify situations in which gain occurred, but overestimated rates of gain. Both systems appear to underestimate the maintenance energy requirement of grazing sheep.     

Biology and control of ticks infesting dogs and cats in North America

At least 15 different infectious agents and diseases are transmitted or produced by ticks parasitizing dogs and cats in North America. Those infectious agents and diseases are distributed among eight different tick species that commonly infest dogs and cats. All but one of these species are hard ticks with a three-host development cycle in which each motile stage (larva, nymph, and adult) feeds on a different host after molting. Tick species, disease occurrence, and peak activity of each tick life stage can vary dramatically depending on geographic and climatic conditions. Gaining an understanding of tick distribution, tick ecology, and seasonal occurrence of different tick life stages can help with the management of tick infestations and reduce the incidence of tick-transmitted diseases in dogs and cats. Control should be based on an understanding and management of ecologic factors responsible for tick infestations and selection of appropriate acaricides. Occasionally, topical acaricides will appear not to have prevented tick infestations. This lack of control may be real or perceived based on reinfestation rates and/or pet owner expectations of product performance.     

Efficacy of Fipronil (9.8% w/w) + (S)-Methoprene (8.8% w/w) and Imidacloprid (8.8% w/w) + Permethrin (44% w/w) against Dermacentor variabilis (American Dog Tick) on Dogs.

This study evaluated overall efficacy, percentage of dogs free of live ticks, retention of ticks, and efficacy against retained ticks of fipronil (9.8% w/w) + (S)-methoprene (8.8% w/w) and imidacloprid (8.8% w/w) + permethrin (44% w/w) spot-on topical solutions against Dermacentor variabilis infesting dogs. Fipronil + (S)-methoprene provided significantly (P less than .05) greater tick control compared with the control dogs for the entire 30-day study period. Conversely, the combination product of imidacloprid + permethrin demonstrated activity significantly (P less than .05) different from control dogs only up to day 23. Significantly (P less than .05) more dogs treated with fipronil + (S)-methoprene were free of live ticks compared with controls on days 3, 9, and 16. There was never a significant difference (P greater than .05) between control and imidacloprid + permethrin-treated dogs in numbers of dogs free of live ticks. After the initial 10-minute tick exposure, lower numbers of ticks were retained on the imidacloprid + permethrin-treated dogs than on the fipronil + (S)-methoprene-treated dogs. However, when evaluating the effectiveness of the acaricides on "retained ticks," it appears that while some of the ticks were rapidly knocked down on the imidacloprid + permethrin-treated dogs, efficacy against ticks still retained at 10 minutes was never greater than 50%.     

Efficacy of a topically applied spot-on formulation of a novel insecticide, metaflumizone, applied to cats against a flea strain (KS1) with documented reduced susceptibility to various insecticides

A spot-on metaflumizone formulation was evaluated in adult domestic short hair cats to determine its adultidical efficacy against a flea strain that has reduced susceptibility to a number of insecticides. Eight cats served as non-treated controls, eight cats were treated with a metaflumizone formulation at 0.2 ml/kg (40 mg metaflumizone/kg) and eight cats were treated with fipronil 10% w/v-(s)-methoprene 12%w/v at 0.075 ml/kg (7.5-7.7 mg fipronil/kg:9.0-9.2 mg (s)-methoprene/kg). On days -1, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, and 42 each cat was infested with approximately 100 unfed KS1 cat fleas, Ctenocephalides felis. At approximately 48 h after treatment or infestation, each cat was combed to remove and count live fleas. Treatment with metaflumizone provided > or = 99.3% efficacy for 3 weeks post-treatment and then 97.4, 91.4 and 86.2% efficacy at 4, 5 and 6 weeks post-treatment, respectively. Fipronil-(s)-methoprene provided 99.6% efficacy at 1 week post-treatment and then 97.6, 96.4, 71.3, 22.0 and 13.1% efficacy at weeks 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, respectively. The reductions in flea numbers were significantly greater for the metaflumizone treatment than for fipronil-(s)-methoprene from 3 to 6 weeks after treatment.