Elkanah Otiang, Daniel Chen, Ju Jiang, Alice N Maina, Christina M Farris, Alison Luce-Fedrow, Allen L Richards
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引用次数: 1
Abstract
Fleas are carriers for many largely understudied zoonotic, endemic, emerging, and re-emerging infectious disease agents, but little is known about their prevalence and role as a vector in Africa. The aim of this study was to determine the diversity of fleas and the prevalence of infectious agents in them collected from human dwellings in western Kenya. A total of 306 fleas were collected using light traps from 33 human dwellings; 170 (55.56%) were identified as Ctenocephalides spp., 121 (39.54%) as Echidnophaga gallinacea, 13 (4.25%) as Pulex irritans, and 2 (0.65%) as Xenopsylla cheopis. Of the 306 individual fleas tested, 168 (54.9%) tested positive for rickettsial DNA by a genus-specific quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) assay based on the 17-kDa antigen gene. Species-specific qPCR assays and sequencing revealed presence of Rickettsia asembonensis in 166 (54.2%) and Rickettsia felis in 2 (0.7%) fleas. Borrelia burgdorferi, normally known to be carried by ticks, was detected in four (1.3%) flea DNA preparations. We found no evidence of Yersinia pestis, Bartonella spp., or Orientia spp. Not only were Ctenocephalides spp. the most predominant flea species in the human dwellings, but also almost all of them were harboring R. asembonensis.
期刊介绍:
Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases is an authoritative, peer-reviewed journal providing basic and applied research on diseases transmitted to humans by invertebrate vectors or non-human vertebrates. The Journal examines geographic, seasonal, and other risk factors that influence the transmission, diagnosis, management, and prevention of this group of infectious diseases, and identifies global trends that have the potential to result in major epidemics.
Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases coverage includes:
-Ecology
-Entomology
-Epidemiology
-Infectious diseases
-Microbiology
-Parasitology
-Pathology
-Public health
-Tropical medicine
-Wildlife biology
-Bacterial, rickettsial, viral, and parasitic zoonoses