A Suburban Focus of Endemic Typhus in Los Angeles County: Association with Seropositive Domestic Cats and Opossums

Sorvillo, Frank; Gondo, Barbara; Emmons, Richard W.; Ryan, Patrick J.; Waterman, Stephen H.; Tilzer, Arthur; Andersen, Ellen M.; Murray, Robert P.; Barr, A. R.

doi:10.4269/ajtmh.1993.48.269

Cited by 83 publications

(72 citation statements)

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“…24,27 In our study, two-thirds of opossums were seropositive for anti-R. typhi antibodies at a conservative cutoff titer (1:128).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…9 Since then, opossums and their fleas (C. felis) have been implicated as a presumed reservoir-vector source, which fuels the remaining foci of endemicity in the United States. 5,9,10,24,25 In Galveston, as in the rest of the country, the incidence of murine typhus sharply decreased with the dusting of rat runs with DDT. 8 Even after discontinuation of the pesticide due to environmental concerns, the disruption of the disease cycle seemed to have lasting effects.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Opossums and Cat Fleas: New Insights in the Ecology of Murine Typhus in Galveston, Texas

Blanton

Idowu

Tatsch

et al. 2016

The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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Abstract. Murine typhus is an acute undifferentiated febrile illness caused by Rickettsia typhi. The classic reservoir (Rattus spp.) and flea vector (Xenopsylla cheopis) were once culprits of murine typhus in the United States. Vector and rodent control efforts have drastically decreased the prevalence of disease, except in a few endemic foci where opossums and cat fleas play a role in transmission. Since 2012, there has been a reemergence of murine typhus in Galveston, TX. We hypothesize that opossums and cat fleas are involved in the transmission of R. typhi in Galveston. To explore this, we sought to find the seroprevalence of typhus group antibodies from opossums. We also sought to find the prevalence of R. typhi in fleas parasitizing these animals. We collected blood from 12 opossums and found that eight (66.7%) had the presence of anti-R. typhi antibodies. All opossums were infested with fleas; a total of 250 Ctenocephalides felis fleas were collected from these animals. Seven opossums (53.8%) were infested with fleas that had molecular evidence of R. typhi infection, while six (46.2%) were infested with fleas that contained Candidatus Rickettsia senegalensis, an organism closely related to R. felis. The minimum flea infection rate for R. typhi was 7.0%. The minimum infection rate for Candidatus R. senegalensis was 6.1%. Our study demonstrates that fleas infected with R. typhi parasitize opossums in Galveston. It is therefore likely that opossums and their fleas play a role in the city's recent reemergence of murine typhus.

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“…24,27 In our study, two-thirds of opossums were seropositive for anti-R. typhi antibodies at a conservative cutoff titer (1:128).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Opossums and Cat Fleas: New Insights in the Ecology of Murine Typhus in Galveston, Texas

Blanton

Idowu

Tatsch

et al. 2016

The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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“…In these regions, domestic cats, opossums, and cat fleas maintain the suburban life cycle of R. typhi and R. felis [9][10][11]23]. In the suburban foothills of Los Angeles County, Sorvillo et al [11] documented a high proportion of R. typhi-seropositive cats (90%) and opossums (42%) in the vicinity of human murine typhus cases, whereas R. typhi-seropositive rats were rarely detected (2.8%), and rat fleas were not found. Furthermore, the mean number of cat fleas found on opossums was significantly higher than was found on rats (L. Krueger, personal communication) [11].…”

Section: Ecology and Epidemiologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fleaborne diseases, such as epidemic and endemic (murine) typhus, which had previously been common in highdensity urban human and rodent populations, have nearly been eliminated in the United States [3][4][5][6][7]. However, murine typhus continues to be documented in suburban settings, where opossums, cats, and their fleas coexist [8][9][10][11]. Worldwide, murine typhus has been documented in diverse geographic areas, including the Mediterranean, Africa, Southeast Asia, and the United States [3,4,[12][13][14][15][16][17].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Murine Typhus: An Unrecognized Suburban Vectorborne Disease

Civen

Ngo

2008

Clinical Infectious Diseases

258

248

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Murine typhus, an acute febrile illness caused by Rickettsia typhi, is distributed worldwide. Mainly transmitted by the fleas of rodents, it is associated with cities and ports where urban rats (Rattus rattus and Rattus norvegicus) are abundant. In the United States, cases are concentrated in suburban areas of Texas and California. Contrary to the classic rat-flea-rat cycle, the most important reservoirs of infection in these areas are opossums and cats. The cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis, has been identified as the principal vector. In Texas, murine typhus cases occur in spring and summer, whereas, in California, cases have been documented in summer and fall. Most patients present with fever, and many have rash and headache. Serologic testing with the indirect immunofluorescence assay is the preferred diagnostic method. Doxycycline is the antibiotic of choice and has been shown to shorten the course of illness.

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“…Two studies have shown that, in some areas of the United States, cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) and opossums are carriers of R typhi. 26,27 However, opossums are not part of the fauna in Spain. Other studies have demonstrated serologic evidence of R typhi infection in cats 28,29 but whether cats can serve as a reservoir for R typhi is still unknown.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Murine Typhus as a Common Cause of Fever of Intermediate Duration

Bernabéu-Wittel¹,

Pachón²,

Alarcón³

et al. 1999

Arch Intern Med

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Background: Fever of intermediate duration (FID), characterized by a febrile syndrome lasting from 7 to 28 days, is a frequent condition in clinical practice, but its epidemiological and etiologic features are not well described. Murine typhus (MT) is a worldwide illness; nevertheless, to our knowledge, no studies describing its epidemiological and clinical characteristics have been performed in the south of Spain. Also, its significance as a cause of FID is unknown.

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A Suburban Focus of Endemic Typhus in Los Angeles County: Association with Seropositive Domestic Cats and Opossums

Cited by 83 publications

References 0 publications

Opossums and Cat Fleas: New Insights in the Ecology of Murine Typhus in Galveston, Texas

Opossums and Cat Fleas: New Insights in the Ecology of Murine Typhus in Galveston, Texas

Murine Typhus: An Unrecognized Suburban Vectorborne Disease

Murine Typhus as a Common Cause of Fever of Intermediate Duration

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