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Flea Infestations: Turn On the Light
Eliminating fleas from an infested area is
a daunting challenge. Chemical control
agents have been effective, but for a variety
of reasons, interest has been spurred to
develop efficient flea traps that can match
the efficiency of chemical controls. The
current study examined 4 commercially
available flea traps for their efficacy in both
laboratory and field environments. Each of
the 4 traps used light as the attractant and
glue paper to capture the fleas, although
light spectra and height varied. One trap
used 2 intermittent narrow-spectra LEDs
as the light source, while the other 3 traps
used a continuous 7-watt type-A light
bulb. The height of the light sources from
the ground ranged from 5 to 25 cm.
The results from both laboratory and field
studies demonstrated that the trap utilizing
intermittent light was significantly more
effective than any of the 3 continuous light
traps, and continuous lighting significantly
reduced the number of fleas trapped. Trapping efficiency was significantly increased
by adding a green filter to the light source,
while the addition of a heat source had no
apparent effect.
moving past a light source. Thus, the intermittent light source seems to stimulate the
natural host-finding behavior of fleas.
Whatever the reason, clinicians should recommend intermittent light flea traps to
clients who seek alternative ways to eliminate flea infestation in their homes.—Carly
Jordan, PhD
Commentary
Source
The results of this study clearly show that
intermittent light is superior to continuous
light for the purposes of trapping the cat
flea Ctenocephalides felis. In all trials, the
intermittent light trap significantly outperformed the others, trapping up to 23 times
as many fleas. Researchers have speculated
that the intermittent light source mimics
sudden changes in light levels that fleas
may experience when potential hosts are
Understanding attraction stimuli of the cat
flea, Ctenocephalides felis, in non-chemical
control methods. Müller GC, Dryden MW,
Revay EE, et al. MED VET ENTOMOL
25:413-420, 2011.
http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/
Vaccine Solution to Soft Tissue Sarcoma?
Soft tissue sarcomas, which arise from
nonbony connective tissues and may
appear in visceral and nonvisceral sites,
account for approximately 15% of all skin
and SC tumors in dogs. Osteosarcoma
accounts for approximately 85% of primary
bone cancers in dogs and is a common
cancer of large to giant breeds.
Commentary
This study evaluated combination suicide
gene therapy with immunotherapy using
cytokine-enhanced vaccine and canine
interferon-β (cIFN-β) with the herpes
simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSVtk)
suicide gene for 11 dogs with soft tissue
sarcoma and 5 dogs with osteosarcoma.
The treatment was used alone in 4 dogs
and as a surgery adjuvant in 12 dogs. The
patients received an allogeneic vaccine or
an autologous vaccine plus cytokine-producing cells. Multiple injections of lipidcomplexed cIFN-β/suicide genes were
administered directly into tumors or infiltrated in and around the residual tumor
Cancer cells, by definition, contain several
genetic mutations that alter protein expression and composition. Subsequently, they
are no longer considered “self ” and are thus
a potential target of the immune system.
Immune therapy seeks to exploit these
mutations to help the immune system more
effectively eradicate cancer cells. Based on
the small sample size, there seemed to be
clinical benefit when treating soft tissue
sarcomas. However, most of the dogs also
were treated initially with surgery, but
details regarding the completeness of excision were not provided for most. Clinical
benefit against canine osteosarcoma was
not clearly demonstrated. Caution must be
mass or surgical margin after surgery. The
treatments were well tolerated and prevented or delayed local relapse, regional
metastases, and distant metastases. Ten of
the patients survived more than a year with
good quality of life.
used when assessing the clinical efficacy of
immune therapy. Based on our experience
with the canine melanoma vaccine, it can
take months for the immune system to
mount an adequate response. During that
time, the tumor can progress without the
therapy truly failing. Ideally, this study
should have provided some assessment of
immune response (perhaps this will follow
in future studies). Ultimately, immune
therapy is generally most effective as an
adjunct with other treatments that first
eliminate as much measurable disease as
possible.—Dennis Bailey, DVM, DACVIM
(Oncology)
Source
Cytokine-enhanced vaccine and interferon-β plus suicide gene as combined
therapy for spontaneous canine sarcomas.
Finocchiaro LME, Villaverde MS, GilCardeza ML, et al. RES VET SCI 91:230234, 2011.
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3 ....................................................................................................................................................................................NAVC Clinician’s Brief / March 2012 / Capsules