Instituto Universitario de Enfermedades Tropicales y Salud Pública de Canarias, Universidad de La Laguna. Avda. Astrofísico F. Sánchez, s/n, 38203, La Laguna, Canary Islands, Spain.
Nertalab S.L. José Rodríguez Mouré, 38008, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.
J Vector Ecol. 2020 Dec;45(2):233-240. doi: 10.1111/jvec.12394.
The cat flea Ctenocephalides felis is the main vector of Bartonella henselae and Bartonella clarridgeiae, the causative agents of cat-scratch disease (CSD) and the spotted-fever agent Rickettsia felis. In spite of their worldwide distribution, there are no data on the occurrence of CSD-causing Bartonella species or the prevalence of Rickettsia species in the Canary Islands, Spain. Therefore, the aim of our study was to screen cat and dog fleas for both pathogens. A total of 128 C. felis from cats and dogs were screened for Bartonella and Rickettsia by PCR. Bartonella henselae (2.3%) and B. clarridgeiae (3.9%) were found in fleas infesting cats, whereas R. felis was identified in both cat (36.6%) and dog (40.7%) fleas. Further, co-infections were observed. This work constitutes the first finding of CSD-causing Bartonella species and the first study on the prevalence of R. felis in fleas from domestic animals in the Canary Islands. These results indicate public health importance, as associated infections could be misdiagnosed in the Archipelago despite their clinical relevance. Establishing human and animal routine diagnosis procedures for these pathogens along with improving vector control in shelters is necessary in order to prevent the spread of the infections among animals.
猫栉首蚤 Ctenocephalides felis 是引起猫抓病（CSD）的巴尔通体（Bartonella henselae 和 Bartonella clarridgeiae）以及斑疹热立克次体（Rickettsia felis）的主要媒介。尽管它们分布广泛，但在西班牙加那利群岛，尚无关于引起 CSD 的巴尔通体物种或立克次体物种流行率的相关数据。因此，我们的研究目的是筛查猫和狗跳蚤中的这两种病原体。我们总共对 128 只来自猫和狗的猫栉首蚤进行了 PCR 检测，以筛查巴尔通体和立克次体。在感染猫的跳蚤中发现了巴尔通体（2.3%）和巴通体（3.9%），而在猫（36.6%）和狗（40.7%）的跳蚤中均鉴定出了斑疹热立克次体。此外，还观察到了合并感染。这项工作首次发现了引起 CSD 的巴尔通体物种，也是首次研究了加那利群岛宠物跳蚤中斑疹热立克次体的流行率。这些结果表明具有公共卫生重要性，因为尽管这些感染具有临床相关性，但在群岛上仍可能被误诊。为了防止感染在动物中传播，有必要在该群岛建立人与动物的这些病原体常规诊断程序，并加强收容所的媒介控制。
