The 22nd World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology (WAAVP), Calgary, Canada was the location for the announcement of the latest results of a large-scale, international, independent Flea Susceptibility Monitoring (FSM) program.
The data from the ten year study showed that fleas collected from around the globe continue to be highly susceptible to imidacloprid today as they were when the monitoring commenced.
There is much speculation over whether or not fleas are developing immunity to flea control products but few studies have been announced to the public.
2009 marks the 10th year for the Flea Susceptibility Monitoring program. Of the 1356 samples that have been submitted, 1014 samples have been analyzed and 13 flea isolates identified for more detailed laboratory investigation.
After additional testing none of those isolates were considered to have reduced susceptibility. The ongoing monitoring through the innovative Flea Susceptibility Monitoring program confirms that veterinarians and pet owners can continue to trust in imidacloprid, which is the active ingredient in Bayer Animal Health’s Advantage® Topical Solution and K9 Advantix®.
The Bayer Animal Health-funded Flea Susceptibility Monitoring program is the first and only initiative of its kind in the field of companion animal parasites and includes a group of internationally renowned, independent researchers.
Under the international program, data is collected from the United States, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.
In the United States over 100 clinics in 23 states are involved in the collection of field isolates which are then sent for testing to independent laboratories in California and Alabama.
The methodology utilized by the Flea Susceptibility Monitoring follows a three-step approach.
1. Flea egg samples are collected by participating veterinarians from infested animals and sent to the monitoring laboratories for testing. Twenty eggs are reared on media containing 3 ppm imidacloprid (the diagnostic dose) and 20 in media without imidacloprid (controls).
2. Adult emergence is measured and if >5%, that population of fleas is maintained to allow further laboratory evaluation of susceptibility.
3. The third evaluation step is to investigate the susceptibility of the flea population when placed on dogs and treated with Advantage®.
To date, no isolates have survived the second stage of the testing process, proving the long-standing efficacy of imidacloprid in killing fleas.
Monitoring the performance of current agents like imidacloprid helps to maintain a longer, viable product life.
Bayer, the Bayer Cross, Advantage Flea for Dogs & Cats and K9 Advantix for Dogs are registered trademarks of Bayer.
- Other flea treatment studies of interest.
