title: Occurrence of Dipylidium caninum in fleas from client-owned cats and dogs in Europe using a new PCR detection assay.
abstract: Ctenocephalides fleas are not only the most prevalent ectoparasites of dogs and cats but also the intermediate host of the cestode Dipylidium caninum. Due to the poor sensitivity of coproscopy to diagnose cat and dog infestation by Dipylidium, few epidemiological data are available on its prevalence among pet populations. A new PCR method was developed to specifically identify D. caninum rDNA inside single fleas. The PCR test was then applied to 5529 fleas of Ctenocephalides genus, 2701 Ctenocephalides felis fleas (1969 collected on 435 cats and 732 on 178 dogs) and 2828 Ctenocephalides canis fleas collected from 396 dogs. Precisely, 4.37% of cats were infested by a flea population infected with D. caninum. Out of the 1969 C. felis from cats, 2.23% were found to be infected with Dipylidium. From the 396 dogs infested with C. canis, 9.1%% were infested with the Dipylidium infected fleas, which is significantly higher than the observation made in cats (p=0.03). Moreover, 3.1% of the C. canis fleas were found to be infected with Dipylidium, which is not significantly different than in C. felis. Looking at the number of infected fleas in the positive samples (at least one PCR positive flea in a sample), the infestation rate in samples was varied from 3 to 100% with an average of 19.7% which is in favour of easy and regular Dipylidium reinfestations of both cats and dogs in households. For the first time, the spread of D. caninum between fleas and dogs and cats is confirmed throughout Europe.
authors.affiliation: Merial S.A.S., 29 Av Tony Garnier, 69007 Lyon, France. Electronic address: frederic.beugnet@merial.com.
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Beugnet
authors.affiliation: ClinVet,Box 11186. Universitas, Bloemfontein, 9321, Republic of South Africa.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Labuschagne
authors.affiliation: ClinVet,Box 11186. Universitas, Bloemfontein, 9321, Republic of South Africa.
authors.forename: Josephus
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fourie
authors.affiliation: Ecole Vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort, 94704 Maisons-Alfort Cédex, France.
authors.forename: Guillot
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jacques
authors.affiliation: Szent István University, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Farkas
authors.affiliation: Veterinary Faculty, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Vasile
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cozma
authors.affiliation: Merial S.A.S., 29 Av Tony Garnier, 69007 Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Lénaïg
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Halos
authors.affiliation: Klifovet AG, Geyerspergerstr. 27, 80689 München, Germany.
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hellmann
authors.affiliation: Merial GmbH, Kathrinenhof Research Center, Walchenseestr. 8-12, 83101 Rohrdorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Knaus
authors.affiliation: Merial GmbH, Kathrinenhof Research Center, Walchenseestr. 8-12, 83101 Rohrdorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Steffen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rehbein
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D002589:Cestoda / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002590:Cestode Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D004285:Dogs; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D058267:Flea Infestations / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D057805:Pets; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D005423:Siphonaptera / Q000469:parasitology*
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal
keywords: Cats; Ctenocephalides canis; Ctenocephalides felis; Dipylidium caninum; Dogs; PCR