Control of Tick Infestations in Oryctolagus cuniculus (Lagomorpha: Leporidae) With Spinosad Under Laboratory and Field Conditions.
Because of great economic loss in the world's livestock industry, and the serious risks to human health, the control of ticks and tick-borne diseases is one of the most important health management issues today. Current methodology involves integrated tick control for preventing the development of resistance. Rabbits are hosts for immature stages of the three-host tick Hyalomma lusitanicum Koch; so, we focus on this host as a strategy to interrupt the tick life cycle. Spinosad is an insecticide-acaricide, produced by the fermentation of metabolites of the actinomycete bacterium Saccharopolyspora spinosa. We administered spinosad orally by force-feeding naturally and artificially infested rabbits, and under field conditions by administering treated food via a hopper during the period of peak infestation and reinfestation risk for rabbits. No living larvae were recovered from treated laboratory rabbits. In naturally infested rabbits, the number of live ticks collected from treated rabbits (mean = 0.62 ticks per ear) was significantly lower than those recovered from untreated rabbits (mean = 7.27; P < 0.001), whereas the number of dead ticks collected from untreated rabbits (mean = 6.53) was significantly lower than those recovered from treated rabbits (mean = 18.62; P < 0.001). In addition, free and continually reinfested rabbits freely ingested low doses of spinosad, reducing the tick burden from 48.00 (Day 0) to 26.09 ticks per ear in treated rabbits (Day 16), whereas controls maintained the infection (46.64). This strategy could be useful as an alternative or supplement to traditional acaricides in tick control programs.
Grupo de Parasitología Animal, Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA), 28130-Valdeolmos, Madrid, Spain. Corresponding author, e-mail: valcarcel.felix@inia.es.
Félix
F
ValcÁrcel
Villamagna SA, Finca "La Garganta", 14.440 Villanueva de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain. Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
J L Pérez
JL
SÁnchez
Villamagna SA, Finca "La Garganta", 14.440 Villanueva de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain.
J M Tercero
JM
Jaime
Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
P I
PI
Basco-Basco
Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
S C Cota
SC
Guajardo
Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
M T
MT
Cutuli
Villamagna SA, Finca "La Garganta", 14.440 Villanueva de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain.
J
J
GonzÁlez
Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
A S
AS
Olmeda
D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000469:parasitology*; D004338:Drug Combinations; D005260:Female; D007306:Insecticides / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018942:Macrolides / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D011817:Rabbits / Q000469:parasitology*; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000662:veterinary*
D004338:Drug Combinations; D007306:Insecticides; D018942:Macrolides; C415329:spinosad
Hyalomma lusitanicum; field; rabbit; spinosad; tick control