Blood Meal Identification in Off-Host Cat Fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) from a Plague-Endemic Region of Uganda

Graham, Christine B.; Borchert, Jeff N.; Black, William C.; Atiku, Linda A.; Mpanga, Joseph T.; Boegler, Karen A.; Moore, Sean M.; Gage, Kenneth L.; Eisen, Rebecca J.

doi:10.4269/ajtmh.2012.12-0532

Cited by 14 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…50, 51 We did not find any significant differences in the abundance of X. cheopis, an efficient vector of Y. pestis that readily bites rodents and humans, 30 between homesteads reporting dog ownership and those that did not report dog ownership. However, relative to C. felis, numbers of X. cheopis were low and are likely to increase during plague epizootics when rodent hosts die in large numbers, forcing their fleas to search for alternative hosts.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

Identification of Risk Factors for Plague in the West Nile Region of Uganda

Eisen

MacMillan

Atiku

et al. 2014

The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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Abstract. Plague is an often fatal, primarily flea-borne rodent-associated zoonosis caused by Yersinia pestis. We sought to identify risk factors for plague by comparing villages with and without a history of human plague cases within a model-defined plague focus in the West Nile Region of Uganda. Although rat (Rattus rattus) abundance was similar inside huts within case and control villages, contact rates between rats and humans (as measured by reported rat bites) and host-seeking flea loads were higher in case villages. In addition, compared with persons in control villages, persons in case villages more often reported sleeping on reed or straw mats, storing food in huts where persons sleep, owning dogs and allowing them into huts where persons sleep, storing garbage inside or near huts, and cooking in huts where persons sleep. Compared with persons in case villages, persons in control villages more commonly reported replacing thatch roofing, and growing coffee, tomatoes, onions, and melons in agricultural plots adjacent to their homesteads. Rodent and flea control practices, knowledge of plague, distance to clinics, and most care-seeking practices were similar between persons in case villages and persons in control villages. Our findings reinforce existing plague prevention recommendations and point to potentially advantageous local interventions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

Identification of Risk Factors for Plague in the West Nile Region of Uganda

Eisen

MacMillan

Atiku

et al. 2014

The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

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“…Cat fleas feed on domesticated animals, household pets, squirrels, rats, and mice, as well as humans (30). Cat fleas can also be categorized by their behavior in leaving their hosts after feeding and remaining on the floors of animal burrows or human dwellings, where they could serve as an off-host vector for plague transmission (31). Although cat fleas promote early-phase transmission of Y. pestis, a specific mechanism or gene required for cat flea colonization or transmission of plague was heretofore not known (30).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The host range of C. felis encompasses domesticated animals, household pets, squirrels, rats, and mice, as well as humans (30). This flea species has been studied for the attribute of bridging zoonotic and anthroponotic plague cycles (30,31). C. felis is a common infestation of dogs, which are infected by Y. pestis and seroconvert to produce F1-specific antibodies but rarely develop fatal disease (32,33).…”

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confidence: 99%

YfbA, a Yersinia pestis Regulator Required for Colonization and Biofilm Formation in the Gut of Cat Fleas

et al. 2014

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For transmission to new hosts, Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, replicates as biofilm in the foregut of fleas that feed on plague-infected animals or humans. Y. pestis biofilm formation has been studied in the rat flea; however, little is known about the cat flea, a species that may bridge zoonotic and anthroponotic plague cycles. Here, we show that Y. pestis infects and replicates as a biofilm in the foregut of cat fleas in a manner requiring hmsFR, two determinants for extracellular biofilm matrix. Examining a library of transposon insertion mutants, we identified the LysR-type transcriptional regulator YfbA, which is essential for Y. pestis colonization and biofilm formation in cat fleas.

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“…Their broad geographic range, low host specificity, and willingness to bite humans elevates the importance of investigating cat fleas as a vector of Y . pestis [ 12 , 13 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeding Behavior Modulates Biofilm-Mediated Transmission of Yersinia pestis by the Cat Flea, Ctenocephalides felis

Bland

Hinnebusch

2016

PLoS Negl Trop Dis

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BackgroundThe cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis, is prevalent worldwide, will parasitize animal reservoirs of plague, and is associated with human habitations in known plague foci. Despite its pervasiveness, limited information is available about the cat flea’s competence as a vector for Yersinia pestis. It is generally considered to be a poor vector, based on studies examining early-phase transmission during the first week after infection, but transmission potential by the biofilm-dependent proventricular-blocking mechanism has never been systematically evaluated. In this study, we assessed the vector competence of cat fleas by both mechanisms. Because the feeding behavior of cat fleas differs markedly from important rat flea vectors, we also examined the influence of feeding behavior on transmission dynamics.Methodology/Principal FindingsGroups of cat fleas were infected with Y. pestis and subsequently provided access to sterile blood meals twice-weekly, 5 times per week, or daily for 4 weeks and monitored for infection, the development of proventricular biofilm and blockage, mortality, and the ability to transmit. In cat fleas allowed prolonged, daily access to blood meals, mimicking their natural feeding behavior, Y. pestis did not efficiently colonize the digestive tract and could only be transmitted during the first week after infection. In contrast, cat fleas that were fed intermittently, mimicking the feeding behavior of the efficient vector Xenopsylla cheopis, could become blocked and regularly transmitted Y. pestis for 3–4 weeks by the biofilm-mediated mechanism, but early-phase transmission was not detected.ConclusionsThe normal feeding behavior of C. felis, more than an intrinsic resistance to infection or blockage by Y. pestis, limits its vector competence. Rapid turnover of midgut contents results in bacterial clearance and disruption of biofilm accumulation in the proventriculus. Anatomical features of the cat flea foregut may also restrict transmission by both early-phase and proventricular biofilm-dependent mechanisms.

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Blood Meal Identification in Off-Host Cat Fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) from a Plague-Endemic Region of Uganda

Cited by 14 publications

References 46 publications

Identification of Risk Factors for Plague in the West Nile Region of Uganda

Identification of Risk Factors for Plague in the West Nile Region of Uganda

YfbA, a Yersinia pestis Regulator Required for Colonization and Biofilm Formation in the Gut of Cat Fleas

Feeding Behavior Modulates Biofilm-Mediated Transmission of Yersinia pestis by the Cat Flea, Ctenocephalides felis

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