Molecular detection of Rickettsia felis in dogs, rodents and cat fleas in Zambia.
Cat flea
Dogs
Rickettsia felis
Rodents
Zambia
Zoonosis
Journal
Parasites & vectors
ISSN: 1756-3305
Titre abrégé: Parasit Vectors
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101462774
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
11 Apr 2019
11 Apr 2019
Historique:
received:
22
11
2018
accepted:
05
04
2019
entrez:
13
4
2019
pubmed:
13
4
2019
medline:
19
4
2019
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
Flea-borne spotted fever is a zoonosis caused by Rickettsia felis, a Gram-negative obligate intracellular bacterium. The disease has a worldwide distribution including western and eastern sub-Saharan Africa where it is associated with febrile illness in humans. However, epidemiology and the public health risks it poses remain neglected especially in developing countries including Zambia. While Ctenocephalides felis (cat fleas) has been suggested to be the main vector, other arthropods including mosquitoes have been implicated in transmission and maintenance of the pathogen; however, their role in the epidemiological cycle remains to be elucidated. Thus, the aim of this study was to detect and characterize R. felis from animal hosts and blood-sucking arthropod vectors in Zambia. Dog blood and rodent tissue samples as well as cat fleas and mosquitoes were collected from various areas in Zambia. DNA was extracted and screened by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting genus Rickettsia and amplicons subjected to sequence analysis. Positive samples were further subjected to R. felis-specific real-time quantitative polymerase chain reactions. Rickettsia felis was detected in 4.7% (7/150) of dog blood samples and in 11.3% (12/106) of rodent tissue samples tested by PCR; this species was also detected in 3.7% (2/53) of cat fleas infesting dogs, co-infected with Rickettsia asembonensis. Furthermore, 37.7% (20/53) of cat flea samples tested positive for R. asembonensis, a member of spotted fever group rickettsiae of unknown pathogenicity. All the mosquitoes tested (n = 190 pools) were negative for Rickettsia spp. These observations suggest that R. felis is circulating among domestic dogs and cat fleas as well as rodents in Zambia, posing a potential public health risk to humans. This is because R. felis, a known human pathogen is present in hosts and vectors sharing habitat with humans.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
Flea-borne spotted fever is a zoonosis caused by Rickettsia felis, a Gram-negative obligate intracellular bacterium. The disease has a worldwide distribution including western and eastern sub-Saharan Africa where it is associated with febrile illness in humans. However, epidemiology and the public health risks it poses remain neglected especially in developing countries including Zambia. While Ctenocephalides felis (cat fleas) has been suggested to be the main vector, other arthropods including mosquitoes have been implicated in transmission and maintenance of the pathogen; however, their role in the epidemiological cycle remains to be elucidated. Thus, the aim of this study was to detect and characterize R. felis from animal hosts and blood-sucking arthropod vectors in Zambia.
METHODS
METHODS
Dog blood and rodent tissue samples as well as cat fleas and mosquitoes were collected from various areas in Zambia. DNA was extracted and screened by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting genus Rickettsia and amplicons subjected to sequence analysis. Positive samples were further subjected to R. felis-specific real-time quantitative polymerase chain reactions.
RESULTS
RESULTS
Rickettsia felis was detected in 4.7% (7/150) of dog blood samples and in 11.3% (12/106) of rodent tissue samples tested by PCR; this species was also detected in 3.7% (2/53) of cat fleas infesting dogs, co-infected with Rickettsia asembonensis. Furthermore, 37.7% (20/53) of cat flea samples tested positive for R. asembonensis, a member of spotted fever group rickettsiae of unknown pathogenicity. All the mosquitoes tested (n = 190 pools) were negative for Rickettsia spp.
CONCLUSIONS
CONCLUSIONS
These observations suggest that R. felis is circulating among domestic dogs and cat fleas as well as rodents in Zambia, posing a potential public health risk to humans. This is because R. felis, a known human pathogen is present in hosts and vectors sharing habitat with humans.
Identifiants
pubmed: 30975188
doi: 10.1186/s13071-019-3435-6
pii: 10.1186/s13071-019-3435-6
pmc: PMC6460736
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
168Subventions
Organisme : AMED program of the Japan Initiative for Research Network on Infectious Diseases, and International Collaborative Research Program for Tackling NTD (Neglected Tropical Disease) Challenges in African countries.
ID : J-GRID, JP18fm0108008
Organisme : AMED program of the Japan Initiative for Research Network on Infectious Diseases, and International Collaborative Research Program for Tackling NTD (Neglected Tropical Disease) Challenges in African countries.
ID : JP18jm0510001
Références
Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1999 Jul;61(1):70-2
pubmed: 10432059
Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2001 Mar;51(Pt 2):339-47
pubmed: 11321078
Emerg Infect Dis. 2002 Jun;8(6):549-54
pubmed: 12023908
J Clin Microbiol. 2003 Dec;41(12):5456-65
pubmed: 14662925
Emerg Infect Dis. 2006 Jan;12(1):138-40
pubmed: 16494731
J Clin Microbiol. 2006 Jul;44(7):2669-71
pubmed: 16825412
Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2007 Nov;77(5):883-90
pubmed: 17984347
Emerg Infect Dis. 2008 Jul;14(7):1019-23
pubmed: 18598619
Curr Protoc Bioinformatics. 2002 Aug;Chapter 2:Unit 2.3
pubmed: 18792934
Emerg Infect Dis. 2008 Oct;14(10):1613-5
pubmed: 18826827
J Med Entomol. 2009 Jul;46(4):723-36
pubmed: 19645274
Emerg Infect Dis. 2010 Jul;16(7):1081-6
pubmed: 20587178
Emerg Infect Dis. 2010 Jul;16(7):1140-2
pubmed: 20587190
Jpn J Infect Dis. 2010 Sep;63(5):353-4
pubmed: 20859004
PLoS One. 2011 Jan 25;6(1):e16396
pubmed: 21283549
Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2011 Aug;11(8):1007-12
pubmed: 21612534
Clin Microbiol Infect. 2011 Jul;17(7):996-1000
pubmed: 21722253
Parasit Vectors. 2011 Oct 11;4:198
pubmed: 21989454
Emerg Infect Dis. 2012 Feb;18(2):328-31
pubmed: 22304807
Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1990 Oct;43(4):400-9
pubmed: 2240368
Emerg Infect Dis. 2012 Oct;18(10):1687-9
pubmed: 23017437
PLoS One. 2012;7(10):e48254
pubmed: 23118963
Rev Bras Parasitol Vet. 2012 Oct-Dec;21(4):345-54
pubmed: 23295817
J Vet Med Sci. 2013;75(6):819-25
pubmed: 23386359
Emerg Infect Dis. 2013 Feb;19(2):338-40
pubmed: 23460996
Asian Pac J Trop Biomed. 2013 Feb;3(2):89-94
pubmed: 23593585
Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2013 Aug;13(8):607-9
pubmed: 23659352
Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2013 Aug;13(8):550-8
pubmed: 23675818
Int Health. 2009 Sep;1(1):17-25
pubmed: 24036291
Emerg Infect Dis. 2013 Nov;19(11):1775-83
pubmed: 24188709
Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2014 Jul;14(7):476-81
pubmed: 24918658
Parasit Vectors. 2014 Sep 30;7:455
pubmed: 25266919
Parasit Vectors. 2014 Oct 29;7:490
pubmed: 25358853
Ecohealth. 2015 Sep;12(3):523-7
pubmed: 25537628
Mol Ecol. 2015 Mar;24(6):1364-73
pubmed: 25677805
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015 Jun 2;112(22):7039-44
pubmed: 26038558
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015 Jun 30;112(26):8088-93
pubmed: 26056256
J Vector Ecol. 2015 Dec;40(2):233-9
pubmed: 26611956
Mol Biol Evol. 2016 Jul;33(7):1870-4
pubmed: 27004904
Trends Parasitol. 2016 Jul;32(7):554-564
pubmed: 27155905
Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2016 Nov;66(11):4512-4517
pubmed: 27506201
Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2017 Mar;17(3):172-178
pubmed: 27992288
Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2017 Apr;96(4):935-943
pubmed: 28167603
Parasit Vectors. 2017 Mar 4;10(1):125
pubmed: 28259176
Parasit Vectors. 2017 Mar 24;10(1):158
pubmed: 28340608
Acta Trop. 2017 Aug;172:44-49
pubmed: 28427962
Parasit Vectors. 2017 Sep 6;10(1):413
pubmed: 28874204
Insects. 2017 Oct 27;8(4):null
pubmed: 29077073
mSphere. 2017 Dec 20;2(6):null
pubmed: 29276773
J Clin Microbiol. 1994 Apr;32(4):949-54
pubmed: 8027348