Abstract
BackgroundBartonella henselae is transmitted amongst cats by Ctenocephalides felis and is associated with multiple clinical syndromes in cats and people. In a previous study, monthly spot-on administration of 10% imidacloprid/1% moxidectin was shown to block transmission of B. henselae amongst cats experimentally exposed to infected C. felis. The purpose of this study was to determine whether application of a flea and tick collar containing 10% imidacloprid and 4.5% flumethrin would lessen C. felis transmission of B. henselae amongst cats for 8 months.MethodsSpecific pathogen free cats (n = 19) were housed in three adjoining enclosures that were separated by mesh to allow C. felis to pass among groups but prevent cats in different enclosures from contacting one another. One group of 4 cats was inoculated intravenously with B. henselae and after infection was confirmed in all cats based on positive PCR assay results, the cats were housed in the middle enclosure. The B. henselae infected cat group was flanked by a group of 8 cats that had the collar placed and maintained for the duration of the study and a group of 7 cats that were not treated. Ctenocephalides felis (50 males and 50 females) raised in an insectary were placed on each of the 4 cats in the B. henselae infected group monthly for 7 applications and then every 2 weeks for 4 applications starting the day the collar was applied. Blood was collected from all cats weekly for Bartonella spp. PCR, serology and culture.ResultsWhile side-effects associated with the collars were not noted, persistent fever necessitating enrofloxacin therapy occurred in two of the untreated cats. While B. henselae infection was ultimately confirmed in 4 of 7 of the untreated cats, none of the cats with collars became infected (P = 0.026).ConclusionsIn this study design, use of a collar containing 10% imidacloprid and 4.5% flumethrin was well tolerated and prevented C. felis transmission of B. henselae amongst cats for 8 months.
Highlights
Bartonella henselae is transmitted amongst cats by Ctenocephalides felis and is associated with multiple clinical syndromes in cats and people
The purpose of this study was to determine whether application of a flea and tick collar containing 10% imidacloprid and 4.5% flumethrin to cats would lessen C. felis transmission of B. henselae amongst cats over an 8 month study period
Ctenocephalides felis The C. felis used in this study were purchased from an insectary of a local research laboratory.c Two groups of 5 male and 5 female adult C. felis that were not exposed to the cats were purchased and were pooled by group, subjected to total DNA extraction, and shown to be negative for DNA of Bartonella spp. and haemoplasmas by Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay [6,11,12]
Summary
Bartonella henselae is transmitted amongst cats by Ctenocephalides felis and is associated with multiple clinical syndromes in cats and people. Monthly spot-on administration of 10% imidacloprid/1% moxidectina was shown to block transmission of B. henselae amongst cats experimentally exposed to infected C. felis [7]. This product is licensed for monthly use and so owner compliance may be less than 100%. A flea and tick collar containing 10% imidacloprid and 4.5% flumethrinb was recently registered in the European Union and the United States [9,10,11] This collar has been shown to be safe for use in kittens > 10 weeks of age and is very effective for the prevention of fleas and ticks for 8 months which could be very convenient for some cats and their owners [9,10,11]
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