Flea Allergy Flashcards
(31 cards)
What is the most common skin condition of dogs and cats?
flea allergy dermatitis
What is the most common flea species parasitizing cats AND dogs?
What two other species can parasitize companion animals?
Are they host specific?
Ctenocephalides felis
Pulex irritans (human flea) and Echidnophagia gallinacea (the avian “sticktight” flea) can also infest these companion animals. Ctenocephalides canis is uncommon.
Not host specific
What pathogens can C. felis harbor?
Yersinia pestis (plague)
murine typhus and tularemia
- Dipylidium caninum*
- Rickettsia felis (*rickettsiosis)
- Bartonella henselae* (cat scratch disease).
What is the most common location to find avian stick-tight fleas (Echidnophagia gallinacea)?
margin of the pinnae
How long is the lifecycle of C. Felis?
21 days (3 weeks)
What are the ideal conditions for the survival of fleas?
humid: 65-75%
Temp: 65-80 degrees F
wet
low altitudes (does not do well >5,000 ft above sea level)
Which insecticides are the flea eggs susceptible to?
Instant growth regulators:
methoprene (just after laying)
pyriproxyfen for several hours
What is the food source for flea larva?
organic debris and blood filled flea feces
What are the flea seasons in FL?
spring and fall (temp 65-80 degrees)
What is the most resistant stage of the flea life cycle?
pupa (can be dormant for many months)
What causes fleas to emerge from their cocoon?
What is the first thing a young flea that has just emerged from its cocoon need to do?
mechanical pressure/vibration, body temp., low concentrations of CO2
blood meal
Describe the lifecycle of the flea?
What are the predisposing factors for an animal to develop a flea allergy?
- lack of exposure neonatally or at a young age
- intermittent exposure
- small amounts
- atopy
What are the possible phases of immune response to fleas?
- Delayed hypersensitivity (Type IV) (24, 48 hours)
- Combined delayed and immediate phase
- Immediate hypersensitivity (Most FAD patients) (Type I; IgE)
- Anergy or spontaneous desensitization (Non-allergic Animals) (tolerance)
also, Cutaneous basophil hypersensitivity
What is the primary lesion of FAD?
papule
What is age and breed predisposition for FAD?
no breed
age 1-5 yrs (as early as 2 mo in FL)
T/F FAD is among the three most pruritic dz in dogs.
True
Where are the lesions most often seen d/t chronic self-trauma with a FAD?
back half of the dog: lower back, perineum, tailhead, hind legs, umbilical region
“racing stripe dermatitis”
“waist disease”
If a patient comes in with intense itching but you cannot find any fleas, can you r/o FAD?
NO (only takes a couple of fleas to cause itching)
What secondary infection is common with FAD?
staph folliculitis
With a FAD, are signs constant?
no they wax and wane
seasonal
worsen from year to year and are variable in severity
What are some behaviors dogs will show with a FAD?
corn cob biting of the paws
rolling
going under tables to scratch the back
What are the top three most pruritic skin diseases?
FAD
scabies
food allergy
What are the ways FAD may present in cats?
- Like the dog
- tail-head or miliary dermatitis (scabby cat disease)
- Alopecia w/ no dermatitis (feline symmetric alopecia)
- associated w/ eosinophilic plaque or granuloma
