Flea infestation: a snapshot on the common products and the reasons for treatment failure

Fleas are laterally flattened, dark brown insects around 2–5 mm in size. Although fleas are wingless (Figure 1), they are highly mobile because of their strong hind legs adapted for jumping (Wright...

Educating clients about raw diets and the associated parasitic risks

All puppies and kittens are infected with Toxocara canis and T. cati respectively, at, or shortly after birth (Overgaauw and Van Knapen, 2013). This occurs through transplacental (puppies) and...

A veterinary nurse-led approach to flea control

Adult fleas lay eggs within 24 hours and can lay 40–50 eggs per day. The eggs hatch in 1–6 days and the larvae can then pupate in as little as 10–20 days under warm, humid conditions. Adult fleas can...

Parasite risk assessments

There are five key stages to creating a parasite control plan:.

Using best practice to create tailored parasite control plans for pets

There is no single definition, but best practice is fundamentally a method or technique that complies with all the following criteria:.

Rabbit health practices of 202 rabbit owners

Health checking is important to allow early detection of disease and maintain health (RSPCA, 2017a). The findings of this study suggest that while most owners performed some form of health checking,...

The veterinary nurse's role in parasite control

The ideal VN to communicate with clients is one who is enthusiastic and passionate about parasite control, the education of clients and improving the care of pets (Tottey, 2015). Whether to have one...

The Effect of Climate Change on the Distribution and Incidence of Uk Parasitic Disease

Temperatures below freezing are lethal to adult fleas, dying within 5 days at -1°C and 10 days at 3°C. Survival significantly increases when temperatures exceed 8°C where nearly half of emerged adults...

Pet travel: the lesser known threats to UK pets

The Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) is designed to protect countries against the introduction of zoonotic disease. This legislation also serves two-fold to protect pets from disease, but there is...

Feline lungworm: biology, epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment

All three of these parasites are nematodes; A. abstrusus and T. brevior are members of the metastrongyloidae family and E. aerophilus is from the trichuridae family. The cat lungworm (A. abstrusus)...