Rickettsiae Within the Fleas of Feral Cats in Galveston, Texas

Blanton, Lucas S.; Vohra, Rahat F.; Fistein, Lea; Quade, Bethany; Walker, David H.; Bouyer, Donald H.

doi:10.1089/vbz.2018.2402

Cited by 18 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Rickettsia typhi DNA has been amplified from fleas in Spain and the USA. 69,[71][72][73] Some C felis fleas have been positive for both R felis and R typhi, suggesting cats could be exposed to both concurrently. 69,72 In addition, DNA most consistent with Rickettsia asembonensis or 'Candidatus Rickettsia senegalensis' has been amplified from fleas collected from cats.…”

Section: Rickettsia Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of vector-borne pathogens in the development of fever in cats: 1. Flea-associated diseases

Lappin

Tasker

Roura

2020

Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery

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Practical relevance: There has been increasing identification of vector-borne pathogens in cats presented to veterinary clinics around the world for evaluation of fever and the associated secondary effects, such as signs of depression and loss of appetite. Aim: The aim of this article is to summarize the clinically relevant information concerning fever in cats that is associated with pathogens known or suspected to be vectored by fleas, with an emphasis on presenting clinical abnormalities and optimal diagnostic, treatment and prevention strategies. Fever in cats that is associated with pathogens vectored by ticks or sandflies is discussed in Part 2 of this article series.

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Section: Rickettsia Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of vector-borne pathogens in the development of fever in cats: 1. Flea-associated diseases

Lappin

Tasker

Roura

2020

Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery

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“…More importantly, regions with confirmed cases of R. asembonensis infection in humans and other mammals also have reports of positive cat fleas ( Table 1). The cat flea is the only known vector of R. felis 27 , and currently stands as the main vector of typhus fever in the U.S. 4,28 , reinforcing its importance as a vector of zoonotic pathogens.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These three groups, followed by a representative vector-borne species are: the spotted fever group (SFG), Rickettsia rickettsii ; the typhus group (TG), Rickettsia typhi and the transitional group (TRG), Rickettsia felis 3 . Species from all three groups are common in wild and domestic mammals globally; SFG transmission to humans occurs via tick bite, while many arthropods including fleas are known vectors of TG and TRG 4 . Since 2000, cases of presumptive SFG have increased markedly in the mid-Atlantic states, including New Jersey, associated with reduced morbidity and mortality 5 , a puzzling phenomenon since recent surveys of the primary tick vectors have seldomly detected the presence of SFG Rickettsia 6 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Metagenomic analysis of human-biting cat fleas in urban northeastern United States of America reveals an emerging zoonotic pathogen

Ferreira

Fonseca

Hamilton

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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An infestation of cat fleas in a research center led to the detection of two genotypes of Ctenocephalides felis biting humans in New Jersey, USA. The rarer flea genotype had an 83% incidence of Rickettsia asembonensis, a recently described bacterium closely related to R. felis, a known human pathogen. A metagenomics analysis developed in under a week recovered the entire R. asembonensis genome at high coverage and matched it to identical or almost identical (> 99% similarity) strains reported worldwide. Our study exposes the potential of cat fleas as vectors of human pathogens in crowded northeastern U.S, cities and suburbs where free-ranging cats are abundant. Furthermore, it demonstrates the power of metagenomics to glean large amounts of comparative data regarding both emerging vectors and their pathogens.

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“…We expected the low prevalence of TGR-seropositive patients, as we know of no reports of R. prowazekii or R. typhi in Ontario vectors, reservoirs or humans. Murine typhus is infrequent in North America, but recent outbreaks in southern Texas and California involved cats, Virginia opossums and their fleas [39,40]. The only epidemic typhus outbreak in Canada occurred in 1847 (New Brunswick, Ontario, Québec), during the Great Famine (1845-1849) and the mass immigration of Irish to Canada [41].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing human exposure to spotted fever and typhus group rickettsiae in Ontario, Canada (2013–2018): a retrospective, cross-sectional study

et al. 2020

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Background: Assessing the burden of rickettsial infections in Ontario, Canada, is challenging since rickettsial infections are not reportable to public health. In the absence of reportable disease data, we assessed the burden of rickettsial infections by examining patient serological data and clinical information. Methods: Our retrospective, cross-sectional study included patients who had Rickettsia serological testing ordered by their physician, in Ontario, from 2013 to 2018. We tested sera from 2755 non-travel patients for antibodies against spotted fever group rickettsiae (SFGR) and typhus group rickettsiae (TGR) using an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) (positive IgG titers ≥1:64). We classified cases using a sensitive surveillance case definition: confirmed (4-fold increase in IgG titers between acute and convalescent sera with clinical evidence of infection), possible (single positive sera with clinical evidence) and previous rickettsial infection (single positive sera without clinical evidence). We classified cases seropositive for both SFGR and TGR as unspecified Rickettsia infections (URIs). Results: Less than 5% of all patients had paired acute and convalescent sera tested, and of these, we found a single, laboratory-confirmed SFGR case, with a 4-fold increase in IgG titers and evidence of fever, maculopapular rash and headache. There were 45 possible (19 SFGR, 7 TGR, 19 URI) and 580 previous rickettsial infection (183 SFGR, 89 TGR, 308 URI) cases. The rate of positive tests for SFGR, TGR and URI combined (all case classifications) were 4.4 per 100,000 population. For confirmed and possible cases, the most common signs and symptoms were fever, headache, gastrointestinal complaints and maculopapular rash. The odds of having seropositive patients increased annually by 30% (odds ratio = 1.3, 95% confidence interval: 1.23-1.39).

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Rickettsiae Within the Fleas of Feral Cats in Galveston, Texas

Cited by 18 publications

References 26 publications

Role of vector-borne pathogens in the development of fever in cats: 1. Flea-associated diseases

Role of vector-borne pathogens in the development of fever in cats: 1. Flea-associated diseases

Metagenomic analysis of human-biting cat fleas in urban northeastern United States of America reveals an emerging zoonotic pathogen

Assessing human exposure to spotted fever and typhus group rickettsiae in Ontario, Canada (2013–2018): a retrospective, cross-sectional study

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