Does hair coat length affect flea infestation in naturally infested dogs?

The Siphonaptera are parasitic insects of endothermic animals and Ctenocephalides felis and Pulex irritans are important parasites of dogs. This study evaluated the effect of hair coat length and time of year on the population size of C. felis and P. irritans in naturally infested dogs. Fleas were collected from 14 dogs on a monthly basis for a year (February 2015 to January 2016) at a rural property in Bagé, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The dogs were divided into two groups based on hair coat length: short coat (coat length < 5.0 cm, n= 7) and long coat (coat length > 5.0 cm, n= 7). In total, 2057 fleas were collected, 1541 of which were C. felis (74.91%) and 516 were P. irritans (25.08%). The number of C. felis and P. irritans individuals was significantly affected by hair coat length and time of year. The variation in flea numbers over the study months was higher in long-coated than in short-coated dogs for the two flea species and flea numbers increased with increasing mean monthly temperatures. The results provide a better understanding of behavioral aspects of flea communities in dogs and may help develop control strategies targeting these parasites.

Does hair coat length affect flea infestation in naturally infested dogs? / A altura da pelagem interfere na população de pulgas em cães naturalmente infestados?

Abstract The Siphonaptera are parasitic insects of endothermic animals and Ctenocephalides felis and Pulex irritans are important parasites of dogs. This study evaluated the effect of hair coat length and time of year on the population size of C. felis and P. irritans in naturally infested dogs. Fleas were collected from 14 dogs on a monthly basis for a year (February 2015 to January 2016) at a rural property in Bagé, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The dogs were divided into two groups based on hair coat length: short coat (coat length < 5.0 cm, n= 7) and long coat (coat length > 5.0 cm, n= 7). In total, 2057 fleas were collected, 1541 of which were C. felis (74.91%) and 516 were P. irritans (25.08%). The number of C. felis and P. irritans individuals was significantly affected by hair coat length and time of year. The variation in flea numbers over the study months was higher in long-coated than in short-coated dogs for the two flea species and flea numbers increased with increasing mean monthly temperatures. The results provide a better understanding of behavioral aspects of flea communities in dogs and may help develop control strategies targeting these parasites.

Resumo Sifonápteros são insetos parasitos de animais endotérmicos e Ctenocephalides felis e Pulex irritans são importantes parasitos dos cães. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a influência da altura da pelagem de cães sobre as espécies de pulgas em diferentes meses do ano. Foram coletadas mensalmente, durante um ano, 10 a 15 pulgas em 14 cães de uma propriedade rural no município de Bagé, RS, Brasil. Os cães foram divididos em dois grupos: “pelo curto” e ”pelo longo”, com 07 cães em cada grupo, com altura da pelagem inferior e superior a 5 cm, respectivamente. Coletou-se 2.057 pulgas, 1.541 (74,91%) C. felis e 516 (25,08%) P. irritans. O número de indivíduos de C. felis e de P. irritans foi influenciado significativamente, pelo comprimento do pelo dos animais e pelos diferentes meses do ano. Houve maior variação do número de indivíduos das duas espécies, durante os meses, em cães de pelos longos e a curva de aumento populacional acompanhou o aumento das temperaturas médias mensais. Os resultados são importantes para o melhor conhecimento de aspectos comportamentais de comunidades de pulgas em cães e para o planejamento de estratégias de controle desses parasitos.

Fatores de risco associados a doenças respiratórias em potros Puro Sangue Inglês do nascimento ao sexto mês de vida / Risk factors associated the respiratory diseases in Thoroughbred foals, from birth to six months of life

Foram avaliados fatores de risco associados à ocorrência de doenças respiratórias em 349 potros Puro Sangue Inglês (PSI) monitorados do nascimento ao sexto mês de vida na região de Bagé, Rio Grande do Sul (RS), Brasil. A partir da avaliação clínica e laboratorial pôde-se registrar a frequência de 9,5 por cento (33) casos respiratórios, com mortalidade de 0,57 por cento (2). A ocorrência de casos foi mais elevada nos meses de verão, e potros com idade entre quatro e seis meses foram mais suscetíveis (P<0,001). O desenvolvimento de doenças foi influenciado (P<0,001) pelo sistema de criação e pelas práticas de manejo, os quais aumentaram o potencial de contaminação do ambiente. Na avaliação microbiológica, a maior frequência de isolados foi de Streptococcus equi (57 por cento), seguido do Rhodococcus equi (17 por cento), letal em 50 por cento dos casos. Nenhum caso clínico foi associado ao vírus da influenza equina (EIV) e ao herpesvírus equino (EHV-1-4). Os resultados sugerem que fatores ligados ao manejo, na criação de equinos PSI, parecem contribuir decisivamente para a manifestação da doença respiratória e alertam para a morbidade causada pela adenite equina e a letalidade atribuída à rodococose.

Risk factors associated the occurrence of respiratory diseases they were evaluated between 349 Thoroughbred foals, monitored of the birth to the sixth month of life in the region of Bagé-RS-Brazil. From the laboratory and clinical evaluation, the frequency of 9.5 percent (33) of respiratory cases with mortality of 0.57 percent (2) was recorded. The occurrence of cases was higher in months of summer and foals with age between four and six months were more susceptible (P<0.001). The development of the diseases was influenced (P<0.001) by the breeding system of and management practices that increased the environmental contamination potential. In the evaluation microbiological, , the highest frequency of isolated was of Streptococcus equi (57 percent), followed by the Rhodococcus equi (17 percent), lethal in 50 percent of the cases. No clinic case was associated to the equine influenza virus (EIV) and to the equine herpesvirus (EHV-1-4). The results suggest that connected factors to the management in the breeding of thoroughbred equine are going to contribute decisively for the manifestation of the respiratory disease and alert for the morbidity caused by the equine adenitis and the lethality related to rodococosis.