Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Candidatus Rickettsia senegalensis found in fleas on dogs and cats
By Betancourt-Ruiz, Paola et al.·Published in Journal of medical entomology·2020·Grupo de enfermedades infecciosas·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Candidatus Rickettsia senegalensis in Cat Fleas (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) Collected from Dogs and Cats in Cauca, Colombia.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of fleas collected from dogs and cats in Colombia tested positive for several types of Rickettsia bacteria, which can cause illness in humans. Out of 1,242 fleas from 132 dogs and 43 fleas from 11 cats, 58.7% were found to carry these bacteria. The study identified a new strain, Candidatus Rickettsia senegalensis, in fleas from dogs, marking the first time this has been reported in Colombia. While this research highlights the potential health risks associated with fleas, it emphasizes the importance of flea control in pets to prevent the spread of these pathogens.
People also search for: cat fleas health risks · dog flea treatment · Rickettsia in pets · flea control for dogs and cats · how to prevent flea bites on pets
Abstract
Rickettsia typhi and Rickettsia felis (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae) are flea-transmitted pathogens. They are important causes of acute febrile illness throughout the world. We, therefore, sought to identify the rickettsial species present in the fleas of dogs and cats in the department of Cauca, Colombia. In this study, we collected 1,242 fleas from 132 dogs and 43 fleas from 11 cats. All fleas were morphologically identified as Ctenocephalides felis (Bouché) adults and organized in pools for DNA extraction (234 pools from dogs and 11 from cats). The gltA gene from rickettsiae was targeted for screening amplification using conventional PCR. In total, 144 of the 245 pools (58.7%) were positive. The positive samples were then processed for the amplification of the 17kDa antigen gene (144/144; 100% positive) and sca5 gene (140/144; 97.2% positive). In addition, restriction enzyme length polymorphism analysis using NlaIV on the amplified product of the sca5 gene demonstrated several organisms: 21/140 (15%) were R. felis, 118/140 (84.3%) were Rickettsia asemboensis, and 1/140 (0.7%) were Candidatus Rickettsia senegalensis. Subsequent sequencing confirmed Candidatus Rickettsia senegalensis in C. felis collected from dogs the first reported from Colombia.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31617911/