Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, U.S.A.
Department of Entomology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, U.S.A.
J Vector Ecol. 2020 Jun;45(1):32-44. doi: 10.1111/jvec.12371.
The number of recognized flea-borne pathogens has increased over the past decade. However, the true number of infections related to all flea-borne pathogens remains unknown. To better understand the enzootic cycle of flea-borne pathogens, fleas were sampled from small mammals trapped in central Pennsylvania. A total of 541 small mammals were trapped, with white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) and southern red-backed voles (Myodes gapperi) accounting for over 94% of the captures. Only P. leucopus were positive for examined blood-borne pathogens, with 47 (18.1%) and ten (4.8%) positive for Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Babesia microti, respectively. In addition, 61 fleas were collected from small mammals and tested for pathogens. Orchopeas leucopus was the most common flea and Bartonella vinsonii subspecies arupensis, B. microti, and a Rickettsia felis-like bacterium were detected in various flea samples. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of B. microti DNA detected from a flea and the first report of a R. felis-like bacterium from rodent fleas in eastern North America. This study provides evidence of emerging pathogens found in fleas, but further investigation is required to resolve the ecology of flea-borne disease transmission cycles.
在过去的十年中，被识别的跳蚤传播病原体的数量有所增加。然而，与所有跳蚤传播病原体相关的实际感染数量仍不清楚。为了更好地了解跳蚤传播病原体的地方病循环，我们从宾夕法尼亚州中部捕获的小型哺乳动物身上采集了跳蚤样本。共捕获了 541 只小型哺乳动物，其中白足鼠（Peromyscus leucopus）和南部红背田鼠（Myodes gapperi）占捕获量的 94%以上。只有 P. leucopus 对检查的血源性病原体呈阳性，分别有 47 只（18.1%）和 10 只（4.8%）对嗜吞噬细胞无形体和微小巴贝斯虫呈阳性。此外，从小型哺乳动物身上采集了 61 只跳蚤进行病原体检测。Orchopeas leucopus 是最常见的跳蚤，在各种跳蚤样本中检测到了巴尔通体亚种 arupensis、微小巴贝斯虫和一种似猫立克次体细菌。据我们所知，这是首次从跳蚤中检测到微小巴贝斯虫 DNA 的报告，也是首次在北美东部啮齿动物跳蚤中报告似猫立克次体细菌的报告。本研究提供了在跳蚤中发现的新兴病原体的证据，但需要进一步调查来解决跳蚤传播疾病的传播周期的生态学问题。
