Biological, seasonal and environmental factors associated with Pulex irritans infestation of dairy goats in Greece

doi:10.1016/j.vetpar.2005.12.012

Veterinary Parasitology

Volume 137, Issues 1–2, 15 April 2006, Pages 137-143

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetpar.2005.12.012 Get rights and content

Abstract

The objectives of the present study were to study the fauna of fleas infesting dairy goats in Greece, the spectrum of hosts each flea species infests, identify risk factors in the environment, and goat management practices that favour flea infestation of goats, and describe the seasonal variation of infestation in goats. For this purpose, a total of 64 herds, with a history of flea infestation in goats, were visited during June and July of 2002 for data collection on flea burdens, species of fleas on goats, and other farm or pet animal species in the farm. Also data were collected on herd characteristics and management along with the flea infestation status of the village where it was located through a questionnaire survey. Data on elevation and climatic characteristics of the villages where the herds were located were also used in the study. All fleas collected from goats, sheep, pigs, and cattle were identified as being Pulex irritans. All fleas collected from cats were identified as being Ctenocephalides felis. Dogs were infested either with P. irritans, C. canis, or C. felis, or with both C. canis and C. felis. Kids had a significantly higher flea burden than goats and the Skopelos breed had the highest flea burden of all breeds followed in diminishing order by the breeds Capra prisca, Saanen cross mix, and Alpine cross mix (p < 0.05). The gender of the animal had no significant effect on flea burden. Factors significantly affecting the flea burden of goats were duration of flea infestation in the herd, type of flea control, and manure imported prior to the appearance of fleas in the herd (p < 0.05). The flea burden of goats was highest during summer and lowest during winter (p < 0.01), with complete an absence of infestation in January and February. Finally, a significant difference (p < 0.05) was found between the average annual temperature of villages with flea infestation (15.59 °C) and villages without flea infestation (17.14 °C). It was concluded that P. irritans was a true infestation of goats in Greece.

Introduction

Flea infestation of goats has been recorded in various regions mainly in tropical zones (Obasaju and Otesile, 1980, Opasina, 1983, Ugochukwu and Apeh, 1985, Yeruham et al., 1997, McCrindle et al., 1999). Flea infestation of goats in temperate climates is considered to be uncommon (Matthews, 1999), however infestation of goats with the human flea Pullex irritans has been recorded in France, in Italy, and in Greece (Christodoulopoulos, 2003). The clinical features of the P. irritans infestation in dairy herds in Greece were described in a previous study (Christodoulopoulos and Theodoropoulos, 2003). The zoonotic aspect of this infestation is of particular significance, since these fleas have been reported by the farmers to attack humans, especially at milking and feeding time, and in some cases to infest their homes.

The objectives of the present study were: (i) to study the fauna of fleas infesting dairy goats in Greece (i.e. whether other flea species besides P. irritans infest goats), (ii) to study the spectrum of hosts each flea species infests (i.e. whether other animals as well as humans associated with goats are infested by P. irritans or other flea species), (iii) to identify risk factors in the environment and goat management practices that favour flea infestation of goats, and (iv) to describe the seasonal variation of infestation in goats.

Section snippets

Study herds

In Greece there are approximately five million dairy goats (Zygogiannis and Katsaounis, 1992). Herds are managed almost exclusively according to the traditional, extensive production system. The majority of goats are of the local Greek breed of Capra prisca, although a few mixed Alpine cross and Saanen cross animals are also found. Furthermore, in Thessaly a dairy breed named “Skopelos” has been recently introduced from the homonymous island of Northern Sporades, a group of Aegean islands east

Results

Table 2 presents the distribution of flea species found on goats and their associated farm or pet animals in the 64 herds examined. All fleas collected from goats, sheep, pigs, and cattle were identified as being P. irritans. All fleas collected from cats were identified as being Ctenocephalides felis. Dogs were infested either with P. irritans, C. canis, or C. felis, or with both C. canis and C. felis.

The clinical signs observed in adult goats were restlessness, rubbing, chewing, cut hairs,

Discussion

When the goal of analysing data is to predict the dependent variable (Y), then multicollinearity (MC) is not a problem as long as the model accounts for a high proportion in the variation in Y. If the goal is to understand how each of the independent x's impacts Y, MC becomes potentially problematic. It should be noted that although ridge regression (RR) allows for biased estimators of the regression coefficients, in contrast to least squares analysis, these coefficients are not subjected to

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Veterinary Parasitology

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Study herds

Results

Discussion

References (15)

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Small Ruminant Res.

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Vet. Rec.

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Vet. Rec.

Diseases of the Goat

A primary health care approach to treatment and control of flea (Ctenocephalides felis) infestation in indigenous goats kept on communal grazing

J. S. Afr. Vet. Assoc.

A Second Course in Statistics. Regression Analysis

Ctenocephalides canis infestation of sheep and goats

Trop. Anim. Health Prod.

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