Efficacy of lufenuron against developmental stages of fleas (Ctenocephalides felis felis) in dogs housed in simulated home environments.

Twenty-four, adult, female Beagles were arranged by body weight from greatest to least and allocated to 2 groups of 12 dogs, using random numbers. Dogs were housed collectively in 2 adjacent metal buildings, each divided into 4 rooms measuring 2.1 x 3.7 m. Each room was paneled and carpeted and had an access door to the outside with a connecting run that measured 2.1 x 9.1 m. Each run had a surface consisting of 5 cm of pea gravel overlaying 5 cm of sand, and was partially covered by an awning that provided shade at its proximal end. For placement in room/run units, dogs in each of the treated and control groups were alloted to 4 subgroups of 3 dogs each. Each subgroup of dogs was placed in a separate room/run unit. Units containing treatment or control subgroups were alternated to avoid placing identically treated subgroups adjacent to each other. Dogs of subgroups A, C, E, and G were treated with lufenuron monthly at a minimal target dosage of 10 mg/kg of body weight; those of subgroups B, D, F, and H were treated with excipient tablets. Dogs were treated on study days 7, 37, 68, and 98. Each dog was infested with 100 newly emerged, unfed, insectary-reared, adult Ctenocephalides felis on each of study days 0 and 2. Thereafter, infestations on all dogs were dependent on continued development of fleas either in the indoor or outdoor environment. Numbers of fleas on each of the treated and control dogs were determined, using a nondestructive counting technique on days 6, 14, 21, 28, 35, 56, 70, 84, 98, 112, and 119.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)