INFECTION BY Rickettsia felis IN OPOSSUMS (Didelphis sp.) FROM YUCATAN, MEXICO

Abstract

SUMMARYRickettsia felis is an emergent pathogen and the causative agent of a typhus-like rickettsiosis in the Americas. Its transmission cycle involves fleas as biological vectors (mainly Ctenocephalides felis) and multiple domestic and synanthropic mammal hosts. Nonetheless, the role of mammals in the cycle of R. felis is not well understood and many efforts are ongoing in different countries of America to clarify it. The present study describes for the first time in Mexico the infection of two species of opossum (Didelphis virginiana and D. marsupialis) by R. felis. A diagnosis was carried out from blood samples by molecular methods through the gltA and 17 kDa genes and sequence determination. Eighty-seven opossum samples were analyzed and 28 were found to be infected (32.1%) from five out of the six studied localities of Yucatan. These findings enable recognition of the potential epidemiological implications for public health of the presence of infected synanthropic Didelphis in households.

Urban foci of murine typhus involving cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis felis) collected from opossums in Mexico City

“…This work represents the first record of R. typhi in fleas collected from opossums in an urban ecological Reserve in Mexico City, Mexico. Given the fact that there are records of Ct. felis felis and other flea species (Blanton et al., 2016) , associated with opossums infected with R. typhi in the southeast of United States, and that two opossums species were found to be infected in the Yucatan Peninsula (Panti‐May et al., 2015; Peniche‐Lara et al., 2016), our results support the necessity of a systematic entomological surveillance in fleas of D. virginiana throughout the entire distribution of this mammal species. Opossums could be carrying infected fleas along great distances; it has been reported that D. virginiana has a home range from about 650 m 2 up to 23 hectares (particularly in males) (Ceballos, 2014).…”

“…Didelphis virginiana is an abundant species that inhabits lowlands and hillock of deciduous forests, swamps and marshes from the sea level up to 3,000 m. It is also a resilient species, adapting to the change in land use and persisting in anthropized areas, such as farmlands and sub‐urban areas (Ceballos, 2014). Although several studies have demonstrated the presence of Rickettsia felis and R. typhi in Didelphis marsupialis and D. virginiana in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, surveillance of these rickettsial agents has never been carried out in their fleas (Panti‐May et al., 2015; Peniche‐Lara et al., 2016). For this reason, the aim of this work was to detect the presence and diversity of Rickettsia sp.…”

Serological evidence of exposure to Rickettsia felis and Rickettsia typhi in Australian veterinarians

“…Efforts to identify a vertebrate biological reservoir for R. felis have so far remained unresolved. While R. felis DNA has been detected in cat [ 8 ], dog [ 9 ] and opossum [ 10 ] blood, successful culture of the organism from mammalian blood has yet to be achieved. In C. felis , R. felis is maintained for up to 12 generations in the absence of a blood meal [ 11 ].…”

Confirmation of the presence of Rickettsia felis infecting Ornithodoros puertoricensis in Mexico

“…talaje ; however, sequencing was not performed to confirm the infecting bacterial species (Dzul‐Rosado et al, 2021). Additionally, in studies also carried out in the state of Yucatan, the presence of R. felis DNA was demonstrated in blood samples of D. virginiana and D. marsupialis (Peniche‐Lara et al, 2016). In the present study, the blood from one of the opossums was screened, but it was negative for the presence of Rickettsia DNA.…”