Morphological and molecular characterization of Ctenocephalides spp isolated from dogs in north of Iran

The main aim of the present study was to assess the infestation level of Ctenocephalides spp on domestic dogs in Meshkinshahr County, located in Ardabil province (north of Iran). A total of 20 domestic dogs were randomly selected for this study. After flea combing, results revealed that 100% of the dogs were infested with fleas. A total number of 942 fleas were collected. Two species were identified, of which Ctenocephalides canis the most abundant (98.73%) was followed by C. felis (1.27%). The dog flea, C. canis was the most common flea infesting 100% dogs and C. felis was identified on 7/20 (35%).The internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) sequences of C. canis and C. felis collected from dogs to clarify the taxonomic status of these species. The results of PCR assay and sequence analysis did not show clear molecular differences between C. canis and C. felis.