Entomopathogenic fungi,Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana reduce the survival of Xenopsylla brasiliensis larvae (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae)

Background: entomopathogenic fungi,particularly those belonging to the genera metarhizium and beauveria have shown great promise as arthropod vector control tools. these agents,however,have not been evaluated against flea vectors of plague. findings. a 3-h exposure to the fungi coated paper at a concentration of 2 × 108 conidia m-2 infected >90% of flea larvae cadavers in the treatment groups. the infection reduced the survival of larvae that had been exposed to fungus relative to controls. the daily risk of dying was four- and over three-fold greater in larvae exposed to m. anisopliae (hr = 4,p<0.001) and b. bassiana (hr = 3.5,p<0.001) respectively. both fungi can successfully infect and kill larvae of x. brasiliensis with a pooled median survival time (mstse) of 20.31 days post-exposure. conclusion: these findings justify further research to investigate the bio-control potential of entomopathogenic fungi against fleas. © 2012 mnyone et al.; licensee biomed central ltd.