Flea Infestation in Farm Animals and its Zoonotic Importance in East-Azerbaijan Province

Problem statement: Most fleas infest their host temporarily then pass to another of the same kind, while others move from one to a different host species. Although the comprehensive list of fleas reported from Iran, but there still exists considerable gap in our knowledge of zoonotic aspect of flea infestation. The present study was undertaken to determine correlation between domestic animals and man as host of fleas. Approach: The questionnaires on the base of flea infestation of animals flock and animal care-man were prepared and distributed to veterinary stations of all townships of Eeast-Azerbaijan province. A total of 297 questionnaires sheets and 156 flea samples were collected from 10 township of East-Azerbaijan province. Results: One hundred forty nine specimens of Pulex irritans were collected from sheep, goats, cattle, chicken and human, which consisted of 91.2% of all recovered fleas. Chickens infested by three species of fleas including Pulex irritans (81.7%), Ctenocephalides canis (11.2%) and Ceratophilus gallinae (2.1%). Three hundred and twenty five cases of animal and 239 cases of human infestation were recorded among the suspicious populations, the most prevalence of infestation was found in sheep and goat herds whilst chicken flocks infested with the lowest rate and cattle were infested moderately. The major health problem was occurred in farmers, animal care-men and their relatives. The observations showed they had different skin reactions to flea’s bites. Conclusion: The results showed that fleas are approximately a widespread parasite of farm animals and it seems that they may play an important role in occurring of zoonotic infestation in Iran.