Diagnosis
VNs may notice fleas on patients during consultations but also on inpatients admitted to the practice for other reasons , such as neutering procedures . Adult fleas are visible to the eye , typically as dark brown , quick-moving , flattened ovals , around 3 mm in size .
A patient with a flea problem may also have evidence of ‘ flea dirt ’ on the skin . Flea faeces has the appearance of black specks , which are commonly mistaken for soil or dirt on the animal ' s skin . The specks are actually digested blood excreted by fleas after feeding .
A ‘ cotton wool test ’ allows you to differentiate true dirt from ‘ flea dirt ’ and demonstrate the presence of fleas to an owner even when adult fleas cannot be seen .
Figure 1 . An adult flea .
Cotton wool test
1 . Dampen a clean piece of cotton wool ( or white tissue ) with a small amount of water .
2 . Comb the ‘ dirt ’ out of the patient ' s fur using a flea comb , then wipe the comb on to the cotton wool .
3 . Rub the ‘ dirt ’ into the wet cotton wool and look for a red ring / tinge surrounding the dirt area .
A red tinge indicates that the dirt is digested blood and , therefore , the presence of fleas .
Eliminate the eggs and larvae
Destroying eggs ( Figure 2 ) and larvae prevents them developing into adults and entering the environmental stage of the flea life cycle . A variety of products on the market ( e . g . Frontline Homeguard and R . I . P Fleas ) can be used to achieve this .
The insecticide products typically contain permethrin , which kills larvae and adult fleas emerging from pupae , as well as s-methoprene , which is an insect growth regulator that stops eggs and larvae from developing . When dispensing these products , it is essential to provide the client with an instruction leaflet on their safe use , as they can be hazardous if used incorrectly .
Treatment advice
To fully eliminate a flea problem , treatment should encompass all of the stages in the flea life cycle .
Eliminate adult fleas
Killing adult fleas ( Figure 1 ) prevents eggs being laid , which removes this stage of the life cycle in the future . As fleas can feed off any animal or bird , it is important to treat all pets in a household at the same time .
There is a wide range of products available to kill adult fleas , including shampoos and various medications ( e . g . Bravecto spot-on , Felpreva spot-on and Credelio tablets ).
Medication is often preferable to shampoos , as it provides better ongoing protection , but medication typically needs to be prescribed by a veterinary surgeon or a suitably qualified person ( SQP ).
Figure 2 . Adult flea with eggs .
Protect against re-infection
Most patients will spend a degree of their time outdoors and therefore have the potential to become re-infested with fleas from an environmental reservoir the owner cannot control . Ongoing flea prevention measures will help protect the pet from another infestation .
Volume 38 ( 2 ) • April 2023
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