Rickettsia felis and Bartonella spp. in fleas from cats in Albania. 2012

Cornelia Silaghi, and Martin Knaus, and Dhimiter Rapti, and Enstela Shukullari, and Kurt Pfister, and Steffen Rehbein
Chair of Comparative Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany. cornelia.silaghi@tropa.vetmed.uni-muenchen.de

Fleas can serve as vectors for bacterial pathogens like Bartonella and Rickettsia species, which have been isolated worldwide. However, the knowledge of the epidemiology of vector-borne diseases in general and thus on flea-borne diseases in Albania is limited. Therefore, from 78 free-roaming cats in Tirana, Albania, fleas (371 Ctenocephalides felis and 5 Ctenocephalides canis) were collected to examine them for the presence of Rickettsia and Bartonella species. Ten of the 371 C. felis (2.7%) were positive for Rickettsia felis, and 24 (6.5%) for Bartonella spp. (B. henselae and B. clarridgeiae). In total, fleas from 15 cats (19.2%) were positive for either one or the other of the pathogens. The results of this study provided evidence for the presence of R. felis (causing flea-borne spotted fever) and Bartonella spp. (causing cat scratch disease) in Albania. Thus, these infectious diseases should be considered as differential diagnoses when febrile symptoms are presented, especially after contact with cats or their fleas.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007303 Insect Vectors Insects that transmit infective organisms from one host to another or from an inanimate reservoir to an animate host. Insect Vector,Vector, Insect,Vectors, Insect
D002371 Cat Diseases Diseases of the domestic cat (Felis catus or F. domesticus). This term does not include diseases of the so-called big cats such as CHEETAHS; LIONS; tigers, cougars, panthers, leopards, and other Felidae for which the heading CARNIVORA is used. Feline Diseases,Cat Disease,Disease, Cat,Disease, Feline,Diseases, Cat,Diseases, Feline,Feline Disease
D002415 Cats The domestic cat, Felis catus, of the carnivore family FELIDAE, comprising over 30 different breeds. The domestic cat is descended primarily from the wild cat of Africa and extreme southwestern Asia. Though probably present in towns in Palestine as long ago as 7000 years, actual domestication occurred in Egypt about 4000 years ago. (From Walker's Mammals of the World, 6th ed, p801) Felis catus,Felis domesticus,Domestic Cats,Felis domestica,Felis sylvestris catus,Cat,Cat, Domestic,Cats, Domestic,Domestic Cat
D004478 Ectoparasitic Infestations Infestations by PARASITES which live on, or burrow into, the surface of their host's EPIDERMIS. Most ectoparasites are ARTHROPODS. Ectoparasitic Infestation,Infestation, Ectoparasitic,Infestations, Ectoparasitic
D005423 Siphonaptera An order of parasitic, blood-sucking, wingless INSECTS with the common name of fleas. Aphaniptera,Fleas,Flea
D000415 Albania A country in Europe, on the Adriatic Sea. The capital is Tirana
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D001473 Bartonella A genus of gram-negative bacteria characteristically appearing in chains of several segmenting organisms. It occurs in man and arthropod vectors and is found only in the Andes region of South America. This genus is the etiologic agent of human bartonellosis. The genus Rochalimaea, once considered a separate genus, has recently been combined with the genus Bartonella as a result of high levels of relatedness in 16S rRNA sequence data and DNA hybridization data. Rochalimaea
D041161 Rickettsia felis A species of gram-negative bacteria transmitted by the flea Ctenocephalides felis, and known to infect CATS, oppossums, and humans.

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