Detection of Rickettsia felis, Rickettsia typhi, Bartonella Species and Yersinia pestis in Fleas (Siphonaptera) from Africa

Abstract

Little is known about the presence/absence and prevalence of Rickettsia spp, Bartonella spp. and Yersinia pestis in domestic and urban flea populations in tropical and subtropical African countries.Methodology/Principal findingsFleas collected in Benin, the United Republic of Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo were investigated for the presence and identity of Rickettsia spp., Bartonella spp. and Yersinia pestis using two qPCR systems or qPCR and standard PCR. In Xenopsylla cheopis fleas collected from Cotonou (Benin), Rickettsia typhi was detected in 1% (2/199), and an uncultured Bartonella sp. was detected in 34.7% (69/199). In the Lushoto district (United Republic of Tanzania), R. typhi DNA was detected in 10% (2/20) of Xenopsylla brasiliensis, and Rickettsia felis was detected in 65% (13/20) of Ctenocephalides felis strongylus, 71.4% (5/7) of Ctenocephalides canis and 25% (5/20) of Ctenophthalmus calceatus calceatus. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, R. felis was detected in 56.5% (13/23) of Ct. f. felis from Kinshasa, in 26.3% (10/38) of Ct. f. felis and 9% (1/11) of Leptopsylla aethiopica aethiopica from Ituri district and in 19.2% (5/26) of Ct. f. strongylus and 4.7% (1/21) of Echidnophaga gallinacea. Bartonella sp. was also detected in 36.3% (4/11) of L. a. aethiopica. Finally, in Ituri, Y. pestis DNA was detected in 3.8% (1/26) of Ct. f. strongylus and 10% (3/30) of Pulex irritans from the villages of Wanyale and Zaa.ConclusionMost flea-borne infections are neglected diseases which should be monitored systematically in domestic rural and urban human populations to assess their epidemiological and clinical relevance. Finally, the presence of Y. pestis DNA in fleas captured in households was unexpected and raises a series of questions regarding the role of free fleas in the transmission of plague in rural Africa, especially in remote areas where the flea density in houses is high.

Prevalence of Selected Zoonotic Diseases and Risk Factors at a Human-Wildlife-Livestock Interface in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa

“…The Bartonella species found in the febrilers were associated with humans (n=1) and domestic dogs and cats (n=3) and rodents (n=2). Bartonella infections have been found to be common in cats (23.5%) and dogs (9%) in a southern African study (Trataris et al 2012), and in fleas (36.3%) elsewhere in Africa (Leulmi et al 2014).…”

Finding of the human flea <i>Pulex</i> <i>irritans</i> (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) in Hokkaido, Japan with human dermatitis caused by this flea

“…The human flea is one of the causative species of flea-borne diseases (Bitam, 2010;Eisen and Gage, 2012), and has been considered as a possible or probable vector for plague in endemic areas of the world (Denis et al, 1999;Laudisoit et al, 2007;Leulmi et al, 2014;Ratovonjato et al, 2014). Moreover, several Rickettsia and Bartonella spp.…”

Fleas from domestic dogs and rodents in Rwanda carry Rickettsia asembonensis and Bartonella tribocorum

“…With the exception of Yersinia pestis (Enterobacteriales: Enterobacteriaceae), the cause of plague, flea‐borne pathogens, such as Bartonella spp. and Rickettsia spp., remain neglected in sub‐Saharan Africa (Kumsa et al ., ; Leulmi et al ., ). Plague is now absent from several sub‐Saharan countries such as Rwanda; nevertheless, knowledge of the distribution of potential flea vectors of Y. pestis is relevant because of its potential re‐emergence from endemic regions such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (Stenseth et al ., ; Amatre et al ., ).…”