Candidatus 'Rickettsia senegalensis' in cat fleas in Senegal. (January 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Mediannikov, O.; Aubadie-Ladrix, M.; Raoult, D.
• Is Part Of: New microbes and new infections. Volume 3(2015)
• Page Start: 24
• Page End: 28
• Publication Date: 2015-01
• Subjects: Africa -- Candidatus Rickettsia senegalensis -- flea -- Rickettsia -- Rickettsia felis -- Senegal; Medical microbiology -- Periodicals; Communicable diseases -- Periodicals; Infection -- Periodicals; Microbiology -- Periodicals; Communicable Diseases -- Periodicals; Infection -- Periodicals; 616.9041
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nmni.2014.10.005
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2052-2975

Abstract

Abstract: Epidemiological studies of Rickettsia felis and related bacteria are very important, because the natural cycle of this important infection has not yet been established. The recent emergence of R. felis -associated febrile diseases in West and East Africa demands insightful epidemiological studies of the vectors and reservoirs of this bacterium in Africa. Twenty-nine cat fleas, Ctenocephalides felis, were tested for the presence of rickettsiae, including R. felis, bartonellae, and borreliae, with specific quantitative real-time PCR assays. Supporting our previous studies, R. felis was not detected in the fleas collected. In addition, neither Bartonella nor Borrelia was found. In five (17%) examined fleas, we found another species of rickettsia. We isolated three rickettsial strains, and genetic analysis demonstrated that these strains represent a probable new species, provisionally called Candidatus Rickettsia senegalensis here.