In vitro control of the camel nasal botfly, Cephalopina titillator, with doramectin, lavender, camphor, and onion oils

Abstract

Camels are very important livestock particularly in arid and semiarid lands. The oestrid fly, Cephalopina titillator (Clark), causes nasopharyngeal myiasis in camels, and it is widely distributed in many camel breeding areas triggering health hazards and severe economic losses in camels. The prevalence of infestation of camels (slaughtered at Tokh's slaughterhouse, Qalyubia Governorate, Egypt, during the period from September 2011 to March 2012) was 41.67 % (100 out of 240). Most infested camels developed clinical signs of nasal discharge, restlessness, loss of appetite, difficulty in breathing, frequent sneezing, and snoring. Postmortem examination of infested camels explained that breathing of the animal is greatly impaired because of blockage of the nasopharynx by larvae and/or mucofibrinous secretions. The larval count per camel ranged from 1 to 250 (mean 28.45 ± 6.48). In vitro larval immersion tests were carried out to determine the efficacy of doramectin (0.003 %) as well as some essential oils (50 % each) such as lavender, camphor, and onion oils against the second and third larval stages (L2 and L3) of C. titillator. Another trial had been done for imitating what could happen if the area around camels were treated with an insecticide or an insect repellent. All treated L2 died 18 h posttreatment (PT) with both doramectin and lavender, and 100 % mortality was reached for L3 after 24 and 30 h PT with lavender and doramectin, respectively. Doramectin and lavender induced the highest response against C. titillator as their lethal time (LT50) values after treatment of L2 were 3.40 and 3.60 h, respectively, and those of L3 were 4.99 and 5.53 h, respectively. Against both L2 and L3 of C. titillator and based on LT50 values of onion oil and those of other applied materials, doramectin and lavender oil were four times more effective than onion oil, and camphor oil was two times more effective than onion oil. Based on LT50 values of essential oils and those of doramectin, as a reference substance, the relative speed of efficacy indicated that camphor and onion oils were, respectively, two and four times less effective than doramectin and lavender. With regard to fumigant technique, neither the insecticide, New Pyrosol, nor the insect repellent, Keto, was effective in controlling C. titillator larvae. Our results indicated that doramectin and lavender could be selected as drugs of choice for controlling C. titillator, but it is not permitted to use doramectin on dairy animals during lactation. Lavender (50 %) has a great potential to be developed as a novel larvicide and could be used as nasal drench against nasal botfly which will reflect on camel production and the national economy.

Larvicidal activity of camphor and lavender oils against sheep blowfly, Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

“…Lavender oil had been demonstrated to have a larvicidal effect against camel nasal botfly Cephalopina titillator (Khater et al 2013). It induced 100 % larval mortality after treatment for 24 h with 50 % concentration.…”

“…With 32 % concentration, the mortality percentages of larvae were 100 and 93.3 %, respectively. Similarly, the relative efficacy of tested oils, 24 h post treatment with 50 % concentration, against C. titillator larvae indicated that lavender oil was two times effective than camphor oil (Khater et al 2013). …”

“…In vitro larval immersion (dipping) tests were carried out according to Khater et al (2013), to determine the efficacy of camphor and lavender oils against third instar larvae of L. sericata. Five concentrations (2,4,8,16 and 32 %) were freshly prepared in distilled water.…”

Toxicity and growth inhibition potential of vetiver, cinnamon, and lavender essential oils and their blends against larvae of the sheep blowfly, Lucilia sericata

“…Moreover, winged Senna ( Cassia alata ) and betel leaf show larvicidal effects against Chrysomya megacephala . In very few studies, some EOs also effectively controlled obligate‐myiasis producing flies, such as the camel nasal botfly, C ephalopina titillator , the sheep nasal bot Oestrus ovis , and the Old World screwworm, Chrysomya bezziana ; moreover, bovine hypodermiasis had been treated with the extract from the dried tangerine peel . As a general trend, our data indicated that pupation and adult emergence are adversely affected after treatment of sheep blowfly larvae with sublethal concentrations of EOs.…”

Efficacy and repellency of some essential oils and their blends against larval and adult house flies, Musca domestica L. (Diptera: Muscidae)

“…The literature on insecticidal properties of botanicals, mainly EOs, is vast and expanding rapidly. Early research on these botanicals focused on pests of crop systems, but recently there has been strong interest in their application against pests of medical and veterinary importance, including mosquitoes (Khater and Shalaby , Govindarajan et al a,b, Muturi et al ), ticks (Abbas et al , Benelli and Pavela ), sucking lice (Khater et al , Greive and Barnes , Soonwera et al ), biting lice (Khater et al ), bed bugs (Sharififard et al , Gaire et al ), horn flies (Mullens et al , Zhu et al ), stable flies (reviewed in Showler ), primary screwworms (Chaaban et al , Tavares et al ), botflies (Khater et al , Khater ) and other myiasis‐causing flies (Khater and Khater ; Khater et al , Chaaban et al ). Prior to World War II, mosquito repellents were primarily plant‐based, with oil of citronella being the most widely used product and the standard against which others products were compared (Moore et al ).…”