Ctenocephalides canis is the dominant flea species of dogs in the Republic of Korea

BACKGROUND: The status of flea infestation in dogs is an important public health concern because of their cosmopolitan distribution worldwide and the flea-borne disease transmission. In the present study, we investigated the flea infestation among 116 outdoor dogs (57 females and 59 males) in 8 rural areas of Jeonnam Province, Republic of Korea. RESULTS: Thirty-three dogs (28.4%) were infested with fleas, and all dogs were infested with Ctenocephalides canis. One dog from Hampyeong was co-infested with Ctenocephalides felis orientis, but no dogs were infested with Ctenocephalides felis felis. The reasons behind this almost exclusive distribution of flea species in dogs from Korea are currently unknown and will require further epidemiological and biological investigations. However, since all dogs investigated in the study were raised in an outdoor environment, the development of flea eggs, larvae and pupae in climatic conditions in Korea might have negatively affected the survival of other flea species. Due to the shoes-off culture and floor-heating system of Korean houses, indoor dogs are rarely infested with fleas in Korea. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first report on the distribution survey of flea species infesting dogs in Korea and the first report of C. orientis infesting a dog in Korea.