Projects

Investigating and solving problems with lice, fleas and ticks

Zantey assists with technical advice on projects concerning lice, fleas, and ticks. The projects range from studies on tick-borne diseases, testing of products, to information campaigns on the treatment of lice and fleas.

Projects on head lice

In 2012, we contributed with technical advice and equipment for a project in an orphanage in India, where 98% of the children had head lice - the remaining 2 % had no hair. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether the orphanage could become free of lice by teaching the children to examine each other for lice and combing each other on a daily basis, using the Zantey lice combs (PDC or MPC). After 3 weeks, 96 % of the children were free of lice.

Since 2006, Zantey has contributed with professional advice to local and national campaigns against head lice. The purpose of these campaigns is to motivate parents to examine and treat their children for lice on a specific day. Several studies have shown that coordinated efforts against lice can keep the problem at a low level and can even make whole institutions free of lice.

Flea Projects

Cat fleas on dogs and cats can evolve into a major problem for the pet owners. In many cases, the problem will last for several months. Therefore, Zantey decided - in cooperation with an external partner - to investigate the causes of the extensive cat flea problems.

Fur farms are increasingly exposed to flea infestations. Especially to mink farmes, flea infestations can become a major challenge, as mink puppies may die from anaemia, caused by the blood-sucking fleas. Zantey  has assisted with technical consultancy and performed clinical studies of flea products on mink farms.

Tick Projects

In 2000, Zantey, University of Bristol and an external partner performed a study on tick species and arthropod-transmitted infections, involving Danish cats and dogs. In this project, 764 ticks were collected from more than 350 dogs and cats. Blood samples were collected from more than 700 dogs and cats with the participation of 53 veterinary clinics, located throughout Denmark. Ixodes ricinus was dominating in both dogs and cats. Furthermore, Ixodes canisuga, Ixodes hexagonus and Rhipicephalus sanguineus were found. Borrelia burgdorferi was detected in 2.4% of the dogs and 1.2% of the cats. Ehrlichia phagocytophila was detected in 0.7% of the dogs and 1.2% of the cats, and finally, Bartonella sp. was detected in 1.0% of the dogs and in 3.1% of the cats.

In 2011, Zantey performed another study on tick-borne diseases in ticks collected from dogs. The study, which was performed in collaboration with an external partner and the Danish National Laboratory of Parasitology, SSI, demonstrated new findings. 34% of the examined samples were found to be positive for one or more human tick-borne disease. Nearly 8% carried Babesia spp.