PRELIMINARY STUDIES ON THE POPULATION DENSITY AND SEASONAL VARIATION OF FLEAS INFESTING STRAY CATS, UNDER URBAN AND RURAL CONDITIONS, IN EGYPT

Stray cats collected from certain slum areas of Cairo and Giza villages were examined for flea infestation throughout a whole year.
Results indicate that stray cats are highly infested with fleas. This should draw our attention to the role of cats as carriers and dis siminators of fleas which are incriminated in the transmission of Plague, Murine typhus and the tape worm Dipylidium caninum.
As for the sex and size of the host, male cats showed higher infe station than the females. A direct relationship was observed betw een the flea index and surface area of the host as indicated by its total length. Nevertheless, the youngest cat group showed higher infes tation in spite of their young sizes. This is probably due to their li mited activity and longer stay in houses away from the outdoor adverse conditions rendering them more vulnerable to infestation with fleas.
Study of the sex ratio of fleas points out to the predominance of erale feas over males. Besides, a direct relationship was obse ved between the sex of the flea and the host, a phenomenon which needs further work to investigate its significance and cause.
Concerning the effect of the climate on the prevalence of fleas on their hosts, the cars, it seems that temperate climate is more fa vourable rather than the hot macro-climatic conditions. Fleas seem to secure shelier in the fur of the host especially during the cold months of the year resulting in higher densities.
Identification of fleas showed that Ctenocephalides felis is the most dominant species, whereas P. irritans and X. cheop < /em>is consti tute a minor proportion.
Cats living in the slum areas of Cairo showed more infestation with fleas than cats of rural areas. This is probably due to the more favourable breeding conditions in the former areas.