Cat flea | |
---|---|
Female cat flea | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Siphonaptera |
Family: | Pulicidae |
Genus: | Ctenocephalides |
Species: | C. felis |
Binomial name | |
Ctenocephalides felis (Bouché, 1835) | |
Subspecies [2] | |
Synonyms | |
Pulex felisBouché, 1835 |
The cat flea (scientific name Ctenocephalides felis) is an extremely common parasitic insect whose principal host is the domestic cat, although a high proportion of the fleas found on dogs also belong to this species. [3] This is despite the widespread existence of a separate and well-established "dog" flea, Ctenocephalides canis . Cat fleas originated in Africa [4] but can now be found globally. [5] As humans began domesticating cats, the prevalence of the cat flea increased and it spread throughout the world.
Of the cat fleas, Ctenocephalides felis felis is the most common, although other subspecies do exist, including C. felis strongylus, C. orientis, and C. damarensis. [5] Over 90% of fleas found on both dogs and cats are Ctenocephalides felis felis. [3]
The cat flea belongs to the insect order Siphonaptera which in its adult stage is an obligatory hematophage. Adults of both sexes range from 1–2 mm long and are usually a reddish-brown colour, although the abdomens of gravid females often swell with eggs causing them to appear banded in cream and dark brown. Like all fleas, the cat flea is compressed laterally allowing it to slip between the sometimes dense hairs of its host just above the top layer of the skin, resulting in an extremely thin insect that may be difficult to observe even if the host's coat is pure white. [6] Cat fleas are wingless. [3]
The cat flea affects both the cat and the dog worldwide. [7] The cat flea can also maintain its life cycle on other carnivores and on omnivores, but these are only chosen when more acceptable hosts become unavailable. [6] Adult cat fleas do not willingly leave their hosts, and inter-animal transfer of adult fleas is rare except in animals that share sleeping quarters. A flea which becomes separated from its host will often die within hours from starvation. [8] It has been found that mortality differs between male and female cat fleas when separated from the host. It was found that within two days all male cat fleas were dead, while females became inactive after three days. [5]
In addition to their role as pests in dogs and cats, cat fleas are responsible for a number of diseases. They can cause flea bite dermatitis and the transmission of dog tapeworm [9] to name a few.
Cat fleas are holometabolous (undergo complete metamorphosis) insects and therefore go through four life cycle stages of egg, larva, pupa, and imago (adult). Adult fleas must feed on blood before they can become capable of reproduction. [10]
Flea populations are distributed with about 50% eggs, 35% larvae, 10% pupae, and 5% adults. [11] Cat fleas may live up to two years.
An adult gravid female flea that has consumed a full blood meal will begin to produce between 20 and 30 microscopic (0.5 mm) non-adhesive white ovoid eggs per day, laying them individually and continually at a rate of about one per hour until she dies (under ideal conditions it might be possible for her to produce between 2,000 and 8,000 eggs in her lifetime, though most only manage to produce around 100 before being consumed by their host during grooming activity [8] ). The eggs are dispersed freely into the environment. Within two to seven weeks a certain proportion will then hatch into larvae. [3] Hatching is at its highest when temperature is 27 °C and humidity is greater than 50%. [9]
Given that eggs are non-adhesive, they do not stick to the host (70% are lost from the host in the first 8 hours). [9]
The larva of the cat flea has a grub-like appearance and is ~2 mm in length. The larvae are negatively phototaxic/phototropic, avoiding light and hiding in the substrate around them. The larvae require adequate ambient moisture and warmth, and will die at temperatures near freezing. [8] Cat fleas prefer soil moisture content between 1-10%. [12] While in this developmental stage the larvae will feed on a variety of organic substances, but the most important dietary item for them is the crumbs of dried blood that continually fall like snow out of the haircoat of the host after it has been excreted by the adult fleas as fecal material. Thus, the adult flea population continually feeds the larval population in the animal's environment. Adult feces is an important part of the larval diet. When reared in the lab, flea larvae provided with adult feces have a higher survival rate (67%) than those provided diets of dried bovine blood (39%) or meat flour (55%). [13]
Flea larvae metamorphose through four stages before spinning a cocoon and entering the pupal stage. The cocoon is adhesive, and quickly acquires a coat of camouflage from surrounding dirt and dust. Pupation depends heavily on temperature and moisture, and takes a week or more to complete, though a fully pupated adult can remain inside of its cocoon in a state of semi-dormancy (called the "pupal window") awaiting signs of the presence of a host. [8] [14] [15] [16]
Newly emerged fleas use variations in light and shadow along with increases in warmth and CO2 to detect the presence of a potential host, and will jump to a new host within seconds of emerging from the cocoon. The new flea begins feeding on host blood within minutes. [14] [15] [16]
A few fleas on adult dogs or cats cause little harm unless the host becomes allergic to substances in the flea's saliva. There are 15 substances that can cause allergy in flea saliva. [3] The disease that results from allergy is called flea allergy dermatitis. Small animals with large infestations can lose enough bodily fluid to fleas feeding that dehydration may result. Cat fleas also may be responsible for disease transmission through humans, and have been suspected as transmission agents of plague. Severe flea infestations can result in anemia due to blood loss.[ citation needed ]
Cat fleas can transmit other parasites and infections to dogs and cats and also to humans. The most prominent of these are Bartonella , murine typhus, and atopic dermatitis. The tapeworm Dipylidium caninum can be transmitted when an immature flea is swallowed by pets or humans. In addition, cat fleas have been found to carry Borrelia burgdorferi , the etiologic agent of Lyme disease, but their ability to transmit the disease is unclear. [17] Finally, cat fleas are vectors for Rickettsia felis . [18]
Since more than three-quarters of a flea's life is spent somewhere other than on the host animal, it is not adequate to treat only the host; it is important also to treat the host's environment. Thorough vacuuming, washing linens in hot water, and treating all hosts in the immediate environment (the entire household, for example) is essential for successful eradication. These steps should be performed on a regular basis [19] as the flea life cycle is complex. Treatment should be implemented every five to ten days. [20] Pet safe insecticides may also be an option in treating a pet with fleas, and soap is sufficient as an insecticide for adult fleas. [20]
Cat fleas have developed insecticide resistance to many of the common insecticides used to control them environmentally, including carbamates, organophosphates, and pyrethroids. [12] [21] Additionally, it has been found that larvae are more resistant to certain insecticides than adults. Targets of juvenile hormone may be successful to limit growth in the larval stages. When administering insecticides to pets for flea treatment, it is critically important to finish the full dose to limit the spread of resistance. [12] [21]
Cat fleas are generally tolerant to a wide range of environmental conditions. [22] As the climate warms, however, it is predicted that the tropical haplotype will displace the temperate haplotype. Climate change often drives changes in species range. In Australia, it is predicted that warming temperatures will drive the cat flea distribution south. [22]
Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about 3 millimetres long, are usually brown, and have bodies that are "flattened" sideways or narrow, enabling them to move through their hosts' fur or feathers. They lack wings; their hind legs are extremely well adapted for jumping. Their claws keep them from being dislodged, and their mouthparts are adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood. They can leap 50 times their body length, a feat second only to jumps made by another group of insects, the superfamily of froghoppers. Flea larvae are worm-like, with no limbs; they have chewing mouthparts and feed on organic debris left on their hosts' skin.
Toxocariasis is an illness of humans caused by the dog roundworm and, less frequently, the cat roundworm. These are the most common intestinal roundworms of dogs, coyotes, wolves and foxes and domestic cats, respectively. Humans are among the many "accidental" or paratenic hosts of these roundworms.
Spirometra is a genus of pseudophyllid cestodes that reproduce in canines and felines, but can also cause pathology in humans if infected. As an adult, this tapeworm lives in the small intestine of its definitive host and produces eggs that pass with the animal's feces. When the eggs reach water, the eggs hatch into coracidia which are eaten by copepods. The copepods are eaten by a second intermediate host to continue the life cycle. Humans can become infected if they accidentally eat frog legs or fish with the plerocercoid stage encysted in the muscle. In humans, an infection of Spirometra is termed sparganosis.
Dipylidium caninum, also called the flea tapeworm, double-pored tapeworm, or cucumber tapeworm is a cyclophyllid cestode that infects organisms afflicted with fleas and canine chewing lice, including dogs, cats, and sometimes human pet-owners, especially children.
Tunga penetrans is a species of flea also known as the jigger, jigger flea, chigoe, chigo, chigoe flea, chigo flea, nigua, niknik, sand flea, or burrowing flea. It is a parasitic insect found in most tropical and sub-tropical climates. In its parasitic phase it has significant impact on its hosts, which include humans and certain other mammalian species. A parasitical infestation of T. penetrans is called tungiasis. Jiggers are often confused with chiggers, a type of mite. Jiggers are native to Central and South America, and have been introduced to sub-Saharan Africa.
Acanthocheilonema is a genus within the family Onchocercidae which comprises mainly tropical parasitic worms. Cobbold created the genus Acanthocheilonema with only one species, Acanthocheilonema dracunculoides, which was collected from aardwolf in the region of South Africa in the nineteenth century. These parasites have a wide range of mammalian species as hosts, including members of Carnivora, Macroscelidea, Rodentia, Pholidota, Edentata, and Marsupialia. Many species among several genera of filarioids exhibit a high degree of endemicity in studies done on mammalian species in Japan. However, no concrete evidence has confirmed any endemic species in the genus Acanthocheilonema.
Cheyletiella is a genus of mites that live on the skin surface of dogs, cats, and rabbits.
Flea allergy dermatitis is an eczematous itchy skin disease of dogs and cats. For both of these domestic species, flea allergy dermatitis is the most common cause of skin disease. Affected animals develop allergic reactions to chemicals in flea saliva. Symptoms of this reaction include erythema (redness), papules (bumps), pustules, and crusts (scabs). If severe, hair loss will occur in the affected area. Dogs with flea allergy dermatitis often show hair loss and eczematous skin rash on the lower back, upper tail, neck, and down the back of the legs. Cats with flea allergy dermatitis may develop a variety of skin problems, including feline eosinophilic granuloma, miliary dermatitis, or self-inflicted alopecia from excessive grooming.
Dermanyssus gallinae is a haematophagous ectoparasite of poultry. It has been implicated as a vector of several major pathogenic diseases. Despite its common names, it has a wide range of hosts including several species of wild birds and mammals, including humans. In both size and appearance, it resembles the northern fowl mite, Ornithonyssus sylviarum.
The human flea – once also called the house flea – is a cosmopolitan flea species that has, in spite of the common name, a wide host spectrum. It is one of six species in the genus Pulex; the other five are all confined to the Nearctic and Neotropical realms. The species is thought to have originated in South America, where its original host may have been the guinea pig or peccary.
Thelazia callipaeda is a parasitic nematode, and the most common cause of thelaziasis in humans, dogs and cats. It was first discovered in the eyes of a dog in China in 1910. By 2000, over 250 human cases had been reported in the medical literature.
Thelaziasis is the term for infestation with parasitic nematodes of the genus Thelazia. The adults of all Thelazia species discovered so far inhabit the eyes and associated tissues of various mammal and bird hosts, including humans. Thelazia nematodes are often referred to as "eyeworms".
Ancylostoma braziliense is a species of hookworm belonging to the genus Ancylostoma. It is an intestinal parasite of domestic cats and dogs. Severe infection is often fatal to these pets, especially in puppies and kittens. The infection is particularly endemic in the southern United States. It is most often confused with the zoonotic hookworm species Ancylostoma ceylanicum because of their uncanny resemblance.
Pulicosis is a skin condition caused by several species of fleas, including the cat flea and dog flea. This condition can range from mild irritation to severe irritation. In some cases, 48 to 72 hours after being bitten, a more severe rash-like irritation may begin to spread across the body. Symptoms include swelling of the bitten area, erythema, ulcers of the mouth and throat, restlessness, and soreness of the areolae. In extreme cases, within 1 week after being bitten, the condition may spread through the lymph nodes and begin affecting the central nervous system. Permanent nerve damage can occur.
Echidnophaga gallinacea, also known as the hen flea or sticktight flea, is part of the 2,500 known flea types in the Siphonaptera order. Echidnophaga gallinacea appear dark brown in colour and is a small flea measuring approximately 2 millimetres in length, which is half the size of the common cat flea. Echidnophaga gallinacea also differ in anatomy compared to the cat flea due to lacking genal and pronotal combs known as ctenidia. Echidnophaga gallinacea like all fleas, have powerful hind legs which allow the flea to jump great distances compared to its size.
The dog flea is a species of flea that lives as an ectoparasite on a wide variety of mammals, particularly the domestic dog and cat. It closely resembles the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis, which can live on a wider range of animals and is generally more prevalent worldwide.
The Pulicidae are a flea family in the order Siphonaptera. Currently, this family has 181 species in 27 genera. Of these, 16 are known from North America.
Ctenocephalides is a flea genus in the tribe Archaeopsyllini which includes the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis and the dog flea, C canis. Species and subspecies in the genus infest a wide variety of hosts, including sheep and goats, wild carnivores, hares, hyraxes, ground squirrels and hedgehogs.
Mites that infest and parasitize domestic animals cause disease and loss of production. Mites are small invertebrates, most of which are free living but some are parasitic. Mites are similar to ticks and both comprise the order Acari in the phylum Arthropoda. Mites are highly varied and their classification is complex; a simple grouping is used in this introductory article. Vernacular terms to describe diseases caused by mites include scab, mange, and scabies. Mites and ticks have substantially different biology from, and are classed separately from, insects. Mites of domestic animals cause important types of skin disease, and some mites infest other organs. Diagnosis of mite infestations can be difficult because of the small size of most mites, but understanding how mites are adapted to feed within the structure of the skin is useful.
Flea treatments are procedures used to treat flea infestations in human or animal populations. They may treat both the itching caused by bites and may remove or kill the fleas themselves.