Otiang Elkanah, Chen Daniel, Jiang Ju, Maina Alice N, Farris Christina M, Luce-Fedrow Alison, Richards Allen L
Centre for Global Health Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Kisumu, Kenya.
Viral and Rickettsial Diseases Department, Naval Medical Research Center, Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.
Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2021 Apr;21(4):256-263. doi: 10.1089/vbz.2020.2709. Epub 2021 Jan 22.
Fleas are carriers for many largely understudied zoonotic, endemic, emerging, and re-emerging infectious disease agents, but little is known about their prevalence and role as a vector in Africa. The aim of this study was to determine the diversity of fleas and the prevalence of infectious agents in them collected from human dwellings in western Kenya. A total of 306 fleas were collected using light traps from 33 human dwellings; 170 (55.56%) were identified as spp., 121 (39.54%) as , 13 (4.25%) as , and 2 (0.65%) as . Of the 306 individual fleas tested, 168 (54.9%) tested positive for rickettsial DNA by a genus-specific quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) assay based on the 17-kDa antigen gene. Species-specific qPCR assays and sequencing revealed presence of in 166 (54.2%) and in 2 (0.7%) fleas. , normally known to be carried by ticks, was detected in four (1.3%) flea DNA preparations. We found no evidence of , spp., or spp. Not only were spp. the most predominant flea species in the human dwellings, but also almost all of them were harboring
跳蚤是许多研究尚不充分的人畜共患病、地方病、新出现和再次出现的传染病病原体的携带者，但对于它们在非洲的流行情况及其作为病媒的作用知之甚少。本研究的目的是确定从肯尼亚西部人类住所收集的跳蚤的多样性及其体内感染因子的流行情况。使用诱虫灯从33所人类住所共收集到306只跳蚤；其中170只（55.56%）被鉴定为 种，121只（39.54%）为 种，13只（4.25%）为 种，2只（0.65%）为 种。在对306只个体跳蚤进行检测时，基于17-kDa抗原基因的属特异性定量实时PCR（qPCR）检测显示，168只（54.9%）的立克次氏体DNA呈阳性。种特异性qPCR检测和测序显示，166只（54.2%）跳蚤体内存在 ，2只（0.7%）跳蚤体内存在 。通常已知由蜱传播的 ，在四份（1.3%）跳蚤DNA样本中被检测到。我们没有发现 、 种或 种的证据。 种不仅是人类住所中最主要的跳蚤种类，而且几乎所有的 种都携带…… （原文此处不完整）
