Aix Marseille Université, Marseille, France; Department of Parasitology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Agriculture, Addis Ababa University, Bishoftu, Ethiopia.
Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2014 Mar;90(3):457-62. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.13-0010. Epub 2014 Jan 20.
Fleas are important vectors of several Rickettsia and Bartonella spp. that cause emerging zoonotic diseases worldwide. In this study, 303 fleas collected from domestic dogs and cats in Ethiopia and identified morphologically as Ctenocephalides felis felis, C. canis, Pulex irritans, and Echidnophaga gallinacea were tested for Rickettsia and Bartonella DNA by using molecular methods. Rickettsia felis was detected in 21% of fleas, primarily C. felis, with a similar prevalence in fleas from dogs and cats. A larger proportion of flea-infested dogs (69%) than cats (37%) harbored at least one C. felis infected with R. felis. Rickettsia typhi was not detected. Bartonella henselae DNA was detected in 6% (2 of 34) of C. felis collected from cats. Our study highlights the likelihood of human exposure to R. felis, an emerging agent of spotted fever, and B. henselae, the agent of cat-scratch disease, in urban areas in Ethiopia.
跳蚤是引起全球新出现的人畜共患疾病的几种立克次体和巴尔通体的重要媒介。在这项研究中,采用分子方法检测了从埃塞俄比亚的家犬和家猫身上采集的 303 只跳蚤的立克次体和巴尔通体 DNA。通过形态学鉴定,这些跳蚤被鉴定为猫栉首蚤、犬栉首蚤、人蚤和禽刺舌蚤,结果发现 21%的跳蚤携带立克次体,主要是猫栉首蚤,在犬和猫的跳蚤中具有相似的流行率。感染至少一只携带立氏立克次体的猫栉首蚤的跳蚤感染犬(69%)的比例明显高于猫(37%)。未检测到伤寒立克次体。从猫身上采集的 34 只猫栉首蚤中,有 6%(2 只)检测到亨氏巴尔通体 DNA。本研究强调了在埃塞俄比亚城市地区,人类接触斑疹热新兴病原体立氏立克次体和猫抓病病原体亨氏巴尔通体的可能性。