spp. in Small Mammals and Their Fleas in Differently Structured Habitats From Germany.

Most spp. are transmitted by fleas and harbored by small mammals which serve as reservoirs. However, little is known about the composition of fleas and their spp. from small mammals in Central Europe. Therefore, the aims of this study were to investigate flea communities on small mammals from three differently structured sites (urban, sylvatic, renatured) in Germany as well as the prevalence of spp. in small mammals and their parasitizing fleas. In total, 623 small mammals belonging to 10 different species (the majority were and ) were available. Fleas were removed from the small mammals' fur, morphologically identified and DNA was extracted. To detect spp., two conventional PCRs targeting the gltA gene and the 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer were carried out followed by sequencing. Obtained sequences were compared to those in GenBank. In total, 1,156 fleas were collected from 456 small mammals. Altogether, 12 different flea species (the majority were , and ) were detected. At the urban site mostly and were collected which may be vectors of zoonotic pathogens to companion animals. The overall prevalence for in small mammals was 43.3% and in fleas 49.1%. Five different spp. were detected in small mammals namely sp. N40 and uncultured sp. whereas in fleas four spp. were found which were with the exception of identical to the species detected in their small mammal hosts. While was the only zoonotic sp. most strains found in fleas and small mammals belonged to uncultured spp. with unknown zoonotic potential. This study showed a high diversity of flea species on small mammals from Germany. Further, high prevalence rates of species were detected both in fleas and in their mammalian hosts. Several different species with a high genetic variability were discovered. Especially at the urban study sites, this may pose a risk for transmission to companion animals and humans.