Abstract
BackgroundTwo laboratory experiments (Studies 1 and 2) were conducted to confirm the efficacy of an imidacloprid and permethrin combination (Advantix® Spot-on, Bayer) to repel and kill Phlebotomus (Larroussius) perniciosus sand flies when applied once a month topically to dogs.MethodsBoth studies compared dogs treated with a combination containing 100 mg/ml imidacloprid + 500 mg/ml permethrin (Advantix® Spot-on, Bayer) to placebo treated dogs. The treatments were applied topically on Day -28 (Study 2) and Day 0 (Studies 1 and 2). Sand fly exposures with 80 unfed females were performed before the first treatment for allocation purposes and post-treatment on study days (SDs) 1, 7, 14, 21 and 28 (following first or second monthly treatment for Studies 1 and 2, respectively). After 60 min, sand flies were assessed for mortality and engorgement status.ResultsRepellent evaluation (anti-feeding effect) on all days post-infestation showed efficacies that ranged between 88.1–99.3% during the first month and 92.2–98.9% during the second. Analyses of the comparison of fed sand fly counts for each treatment group resulted in a highly significant reduction (P < 0.0001) at all post-infestation time points for those dogs treated with Advantix®. A significant (P < 0.0001 for all time points) insecticidal effect was equally demonstrated. No treatment related adverse events were observed during the study.ConclusionsIn the present studies Advantix® Spot-on demonstrated to be safe and to provide excellent four-week sand fly (P. perniciosus) repellency of ≥88.1% and ≥92.2% after a first and second monthly treatment, respectively. A significant insecticidal effect was also observed.
Highlights
Two laboratory experiments (Studies 1 and 2) were conducted to confirm the efficacy of an imidacloprid and permethrin combination (Advantix® Spot-on, Bayer) to repel and kill Phlebotomus (Larroussius) perniciosus sand flies when applied once a month topically to dogs
A significant number of phlebotomine sand fly species are present in Europe, and their geographical distribution is dependent on temperatures with a highest relative probability of the presence of Phlebotomus perniciosus in areas where daytime summer temperature range between 25 °C and 33 °C, whereas the lower limit temperature is predicted at 16.5 °C [1]
The live and fed counts were found to be nearly normally distributed, and arithmetic means were used to calculate efficacy and an analysis of variance (ANOVA) parametric method using treatment group as the only fixed effect was applied to the actual sand fly counts for each period post-infestation
Summary
Two laboratory experiments (Studies 1 and 2) were conducted to confirm the efficacy of an imidacloprid and permethrin combination (Advantix® Spot-on, Bayer) to repel and kill Phlebotomus (Larroussius) perniciosus sand flies when applied once a month topically to dogs. A significant number of phlebotomine sand fly species are present in Europe, and their geographical distribution is dependent on temperatures with a highest relative probability of the presence of Phlebotomus perniciosus in areas where daytime summer temperature range between 25 °C and 33 °C, whereas the lower limit temperature is predicted at 16.5 °C [1]. In south-west Europe and north-west Africa, the bloodsucking females of P. perniciosus are the most widespread sand fly vectors of Leishmania infantum (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae), the parasitic protozoan that causes most visceral and cutaneous leishmaniosis in humans and canine reservoir hosts in the region [15,16,17,18]. Other sand fly-borne infections, i.e. phleboviruses causing diseases in humans ranging from short self-limiting fevers to encephalitis and fatal haemorrhagic fever, have been reported in Europe for the last decades [20, 21]. Further spread is feared because underlying phenomena persist: movements of vectors and animals, and environmental changes notably related to global warming [10, 22, 23]
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