Ability of a proteinase inhibitor mixture to kill poultry red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae in an in vitro feeding system.
The development of a reliable in vitro feeding system has enabled the rapid testing of presumptive anti-mite factors, a mixture of protease inhibitors (PI), by incorporating these into the blood feed. Mites were collected from a caged-hen facility and underwent a regime of starvation under varying conditions of temperature and darkness to determine the optimum conditions that encouraged mites to feed in the in vitro system. The efficacy of two anti-coagulants, heparin (HS) and acid citrate glucose (ACD), on mite feeding rates and mortality was evaluated. The ability of a mixture of PI to kill mites was also evaluated. The rate of feeding was greater in mites that were starved and cooled for between 7 and 30 days compared with mites that were not starved or cooled. The percentage of mites that fed when presented with HS treated blood (70%) was greater when compared with ACD treated blood (48%). The mortality of mites fed blood treated with HS + PI increased to 45% compared with a mortality level of 5% in mites fed on blood treated with HS alone. A reliable in vitro method for feeding D. gallinae which has the potential to be used to rapidly screen blood-borne products for their efficacy in reducing mite numbers has been developed.
McDevitt
R
R
Avian Science Research Centre, SAC, West Mains Road, Scotland, Edinburgh EH9 3JG, UK. regina.mcdevitt@sac.ac.uk
Nisbet
A J
AJ
Huntley
J F
JF
D000818:Animals; D001769:Blood / Q000469:parasitology*; D002645:Chickens; D003624:Darkness; D005260:Female; D005508:Food Deprivation / Q000502:physiology; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008924:Mite Infestations / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary*; D008925:Mites / Q000187:drug effects*; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D011480:Protease Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013696:Temperature
D011480:Protease Inhibitors