` Candidatus Rickettsia asemboensis¿ and Wolbachia spp. in Ctenocephalides felis and Pulex irritans fleas removed from dogs in Ecuador

Abstract

Clinicians should be aware of the potential risk of this new Candidatus Rickettsia sp. and keep in mind other flea-borne infections since these flea species frequently bite humans.

Novel evidence suggests that a ‘Rickettsia felis‐like’ organism is an endosymbiont of the desert flea, Xenopsylla ramesis

“…Similarly, Oteo et al . () detected this Candidatus Rickettsia species in Ct. felis and P. irritans fleas collected from dogs in Ecuador. Moreover, the first discovered ‘ R. felis ‐like’ organisms, designated Rickettsia sp.…”

“…Recently, this Candidatus Rickettsia species was also detected in dog fleas from Ecuador (Oteo et al . ). Noteworthy, the gltA and ompB sequences of the Candidatus Rickettsia asemboensis were closely related to one of the first reported ‘ R. felis‐ like’ organism, Rickettsia sp.…”

Perfil epidemiológico y molecular de Rickettsiosis en localidades de frontera peruana

“…Esta especie ha sido notificada recientemente en Ecuador (23) , donde no habían reportes acerca de microorganismos asociados a pulgas, y en Colombia, en donde se le ha encontrado asociada a garrapatas de animales domésticos (24) ; para el Perú se tienen dos reportes últimos, uno estrechamente relacionado al presente estudio (25) y el otro que incluye una de las regiones aquí estudiadas, Loreto, en esta investigación encontraron una alta prevalencia de la presencia de esta especie en población de pulgas de animales domésticos, sugiriendo la posibilidad de transmisión hacia humanos, lo cual hasta el momento no ha sido comprobado (26) .…”

Flea-Borne Rickettsioses and Rickettsiae

“…This organism is closely related to R. felis but has enough genetic heterogeneity for proposal of a new species designation— Candidatus Rickettsia asemboensis 48–50. In addition to other sites in Africa,51 similar sequences obtained from C. felis collected in Israel,52 Ecuador,53 Colombia,54 and California55 reveal the widespread distribution of this organism. Another R. felis -like agent, Candidatus Rickettsia senegalensis, has been isolated from C. felis collected in Senegal 56.…”