A Strain of Typhus Rickettsiae Isolated from the Brain of a Wild Rat in California

Beck, M. Dorthy; Bodily, Howard L.; O'Donnell, Rosemary

doi:10.2307/4584905

Cited by 3 publications

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“…San Bernardino County is of particular interest as it is directly adjacent to these counties. It has similar ecological characteristics; however, no recent reports of human exposure are known despite historic records of both murine typhus and R. typhi in rats from San Bernardino (Beck et al, 1944;Beck & Van Allen, 1950). We evaluated the presence and distribution of opossums and their associated ectoparasites, and determined the prevalence of the flea-borne rickettsiae, R. typhi and R. felis in San Bernardino County.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rickettsia felis in cat fleas, Ctenocephalides felis parasitizing opossums, San Bernardino County, California

Abramowicz

Wekesa

Nwadike

et al. 2012

Medical Vet Entomology

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Los Angeles and Orange Counties are known endemic areas for murine typhus in California; however, no recent reports of flea-borne rickettsioses are known from adjacent San Bernardino County. Sixty-five opossums (Didelphis virginiana) were trapped in the suburban residential and industrial zones of the southwestern part of San Bernardino County in 2007. Sixty out of 65 opossums were infested with fleas, primarily cat fleas, Ctenocephalides felis (Bouché, 1835). The flea minimum infection rate with Rickettsia felis was 13.3% in pooled samples and the prevalence was 23.7% in single fleas, with two gltA genotypes detected. In spite of historic records of murine typhus in this area, no evidence for circulation of R. typhi in fleas was found during the present study. Factors contributing to the absence of R. typhi in these cat fleas in contrast to its presence in cat fleas from Orange and Los Angeles Counties are unknown and need to be investigated further in San Bernardino County.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rickettsia felis in cat fleas, Ctenocephalides felis parasitizing opossums, San Bernardino County, California

Abramowicz

Wekesa

Nwadike

et al. 2012

Medical Vet Entomology

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“…The 1950-1960s were characterized by a shift in murine typhus cases in the Los Angeles region from the central and southcentral areas of the city to the foothill areas in the eastern portion of Los Angeles and Orange counties (Adams et al 1970). Subsequent environmental surveys failed to demonstrate the significant presence of rats in the vicinity of human cases of murine typhus (Beck et al 1944, Adams et al 1970, Sorvillo et al 1993, and the classic flea vector X. cheopis appeared to be absent from the foothill areas (Beck et al 1944, Sorvillo et al 1993. Consequently, it was proposed that a suburban cycle involving cats, opossums, and cat fleas was responsible for the human cases of murine typhus reported from the foothill areas (Adams et al 1970, Williams et al 1992, Sorvillo et al 1993.…”

Section: Vector-borne and Zoonotic Diseasesmentioning

confidence: 97%

Urban Focus ofRickettsia typhiandRickettsia felisin Los Angeles, California

Abramowicz

Rood²,

Krueger³

et al. 2011

Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases

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Classic murine typhus, caused by Rickettsia typhi, is endemic in the continental United States in areas of Texas and southern California. We conducted an environmental investigation in an urban area of Los Angeles identified as the probable exposure site for a case of murine typhus. Four Rattus norvegicus heavily infested with Xenopsylla cheopis (average 32.5 fleas per animal, range 20-42) were trapped, and fleas, blood, and tissues were collected. DNAs from all specimens were tested for R. typhi and Rickettsia felis using a TaqMan assay targeting the rickettsial citrate synthase gene. Although rickettsiemia was not detected, DNA of R. felis was detected in at least one tissue from each rat. Tissues from 3 rats were also positive for R. typhi DNA. R. typhi and R. felis DNAs were detected in fleas collected from each animal with average minimal infection rates of 10% and 32.3%, respectively. Although R. typhi still circulates in urban Los Angeles in the classic Oriental flea-rat cycle, R. felis is more prevalent, even in this association.

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Insect Vectors of Disease

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1945

N Engl J Med

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A Strain of Typhus Rickettsiae Isolated from the Brain of a Wild Rat in California

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Rickettsia felis in cat fleas, Ctenocephalides felis parasitizing opossums, San Bernardino County, California

Rickettsia felis in cat fleas, Ctenocephalides felis parasitizing opossums, San Bernardino County, California

Urban Focus ofRickettsia typhiandRickettsia felisin Los Angeles, California

Insect Vectors of Disease

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