Immediate intradermal flea antigen reactivity in clinically normal adult dogs from south Florida, USA

Eighty-six clinically normal adult dogs from southern Florida, USA, with no history of dermatitis, were intradermally skin tested with Greer flea anti gen 1:1000 w/v to determine the prevalence of positive immediate intraderma l reactivity. This study describes the test group of animals and reports th e prevalence of sensitivity to the Greer whole-body flea antigen in normal dogs living in a flea-rich environment. Similar to previous research, the h ighest prevalence of reactivity to flea antigen occurred at 3-4 years of ag e. The results indicate that 24% of clinically normal dogs from a flea-rich environment exhibited positive immediate skin test reactivity. These dogs had no clinical signs of flea allergic dermatitis (FAD) in spite of ongoing flea exposure. A 2-year follow-up telephone call to the owners of these fl ea antigen intradermal skin test (IDST)-positive dogs indicated that only t wo of 21 dogs had developed clinical signs of FAD.