Clinical implications and treatment options of tungiasis in domestic animals

Mutebi, Francis; Krücken, Jürgen; Feldmeier, Hermann; Samsom-Himmelstjerna, Georg von

doi:10.1007/s00436-021-07121-y

Cited by 10 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…The delayed drop in clinical pathology and also the delayed increase in symptoms after day 120 can be explained by the fact that a lot of the symptoms are caused by local tissue inflammation and only resolve slowly. It is known that even dead fleas in the skin may cause some degree of inflammation before the remnants of the flea have been completely removed by immune and wound healing processes [30].…”

Section: Plos Neglected Tropical Diseasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficacy of oral fluralaner (Bravecto) against Tunga penetrans in dogs: A negative control, randomized field study in an endemic community in Brazil

et al. 2022

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The sand flea Tunga penetrans is one of the zoonotic agents of tungiasis, a parasitic skin disease of humans and animals. The dog is one of its main reservoirs. This negatively controlled, randomized, double-masked clinical trial evaluated the therapeutic and residual efficacy of fluralaner for treatment of dogs naturally infested with T. penetrans. Sixty-two dogs from an endemically affected community in Brazil were randomly assigned to either receive oral fluralaner (Bravecto chewable tablets) at a dose of 25 to 56 mg fluralaner/kg body weight, or no treatment (31 dogs per group). Dogs were clinically examined using a severity score for acute canine tungiasis (SCADT), parasitological examinations as defined by the Fortaleza classification, and pictures of lesions on days 0 (inclusion and treatment), 7 ± 2, 14 ± 2, 21 ± 2, 28 ± 2, 60 ± 7, 90 ± 7, 120 ± 7 and 150 ± 7. The percentage of parasite-free dogs after treatment was >90% between days 14 and 90 post-treatment with 100% efficacy on study days 21, 28 and 60. Sand flea counts on fluralaner treated dogs were significantly lower (p<0.025) than control dogs on all counts from day 7 to 120. The number of live sand fleas on treated dogs was reduced by > 90% on day 7, > 95% on days 14 and 90, and 100% from day 21 to 60, and with a significant difference between groups from day 7 to 120. From day 7 to day 120, mean SCADT scores were significantly reduced in treated dogs with a mean of 0.10 compared to 1.54 on day 120 in untreated dogs. Therefore, a single oral fluralaner administration is effective for treating and achieving long lasting (> 12 weeks) prevention for tungiasis in dogs.

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Section: Plos Neglected Tropical Diseasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficacy of oral fluralaner (Bravecto) against Tunga penetrans in dogs: A negative control, randomized field study in an endemic community in Brazil

et al. 2022

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“…In South America there are three confirmed synanthropic Tunga species infecting humans, companion animals and/or livestock, i.e. T. penetrans, T. trimamillata (both zoonotic) and Tunga hexalobulata (only known to infect cattle so far) [2,35] as well as Tunga caecata infecting synantropic rats [3]. In this context, further evaluation of the specificity of the T. penetrans-specific PCR will be required.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tungiasis is a neglected tropical skin disease affecting humans [1], domestic animals such as pigs, dogs, and cats [2] as well as wildlife [3]. Although the disease is often considered to be only a nuisance and is therefore extremely neglected [4], human disease can be very severe without treatment [5,6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cost-Effective PCR-Based Identification of T<em>unga penetrans</em> (Siphonaptera) Larvae Extracted From Soil Samples Containing PCR Inhibitor-Rich Material

Amugune¹,

Matharu²,

Ouma³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Tungiasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by skin-penetrating female Tunga penetrans fleas. Although tungiasis causes severe health problems, its ecology is poorly understood and morphological descriptions of larvae are unavailable. To identify T. penetrans immature stages and sites where they develop, diagnostic PCRs are required. However, flea larvae feed on soil organic matter rich in PCR inhibitors. Here, three DNA preparation methods, a soil DNA kit removing inhibitors, a simple ammonium acetate precipitation approach (AmAcet) and a crude lysate of larvae (CL), were combined with amplification by the highly processive FIREPol® Taq or the inhibitor-resistant Phusion® polymerase. Independent of the polymerase used, frequency of successful amplification, Cq values and PCR efficacies for the low-cost CL and AmAcet methods were superior to the commercial kit for amplification of a 278 bp partial internal transcribed spacer-2 (ITS-2) and a 730 bp pan-Siphonaptera cytochrome oxidase I PCR. For the CL method combined with Phusion® polymerase, costs were approximately 20-fold lower than for methods based on the soil DNA kit, which is a considerable advantage in resource-poor settings. The ITS-2 PCR did not amplify Ctenocephalides felis genomic or Tunga trimammilata ITS-2 plasmid DNA allowing it to be used to specifically identify T. penetrans.

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“…Tungiasis is a neglected tropical skin disease that affects humans [ 1 ] and domestic animals, such as pigs, dogs, and cats [ 2 ], as well as wildlife [ 3 ]. Although the disease is often considered to be only a nuisance and is, therefore, extremely neglected [ 4 ], human disease can be very severe without treatment [ 5 , 6 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cost-Effective PCR-Based Identification of Tunga penetrans (Siphonaptera) Larvae Extracted from Soil Samples Containing PCR Inhibitor-Rich Material

Amugune

Matharu

Ouma

et al. 2022

Insects

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Tungiasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by skin-penetrating female Tunga penetrans fleas. Although tungiasis causes severe health problems, its ecology is poorly understood and morphological descriptions of the larvae are unavailable. To identify T. penetrans immature stages and sites where they develop, diagnostic PCRs are required. However, flea larvae feed on soil organic matter rich in PCR inhibitors. Here, three DNA preparation methods, including a soil DNA kit that removes inhibitors, a simple ammonium acetate precipitation approach (AmAcet) and a crude lysate of larvae (CL), were combined with amplification by the highly processive FIREPol® Taq or the inhibitor-resistant Phusion® polymerase. Independent of the polymerase used, the frequency of successful amplification, Cq values and PCR efficacies for the low-cost CL and AmAcet methods were superior to the commercial kit for amplification of a 278 bp partial internal transcribed spacer-2 (ITS-2) and a 730 bp pan-Siphonaptera cytochrome oxidase II PCR. For the CL method combined with Phusion® polymerase, the costs were approximately 20-fold lower than for the methods based on the soil DNA kit, which is a considerable advantage in resource-poor settings. The ITS-2 PCR did not amplify Ctenocephalides felis genomic or Tunga trimammilata ITS-2 plasmid DNA, meaning it can be used to specifically identify T. penetrans.

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Clinical implications and treatment options of tungiasis in domestic animals

Cited by 10 publications

References 67 publications

Efficacy of oral fluralaner (Bravecto) against Tunga penetrans in dogs: A negative control, randomized field study in an endemic community in Brazil

Efficacy of oral fluralaner (Bravecto) against Tunga penetrans in dogs: A negative control, randomized field study in an endemic community in Brazil

Cost-Effective PCR-Based Identification of T<em>unga penetrans</em> (Siphonaptera) Larvae Extracted From Soil Samples Containing PCR Inhibitor-Rich Material

Cost-Effective PCR-Based Identification of Tunga penetrans (Siphonaptera) Larvae Extracted from Soil Samples Containing PCR Inhibitor-Rich Material

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