2024/03/04 by Antonio Zurita, Ignacio Trujillo, Cristina Cutillas
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Immunology and Microbiology · #Bartonella #Bartonella species infections research #Biology #CATS #Coxiella burnetii #Felis #Flea #Microbiology #Pulex #Vector-borne infectious diseases #Veterinary medicine #Yersinia bacterium, plague, ectoparasites research #Zoology
paper · doi:10.1016/j.cimid.2024.102153
openalex publication_date 2024/03/04 · crossref created 2024/03/04 · crossref issued 2024/04/01 · crossref published 2024/04/01 · crossref published-print 2024/04/01 · crossref deposited 2025/09/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref indexed 2026/08/03 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
Climate change is causing many vectors of infectious diseases to expand their geographic distribution as well as the pathogens they transmit are also conditioned by temperature for their multiplication. Within this context, it is worth highlighting the significant role that fleas can play as vectors of important pathogenic bacteria. For this purpose, our efforts focused on detecting and identifying a total of 9 bacterial genera (Rickettsia sp.; Bartonella sp.; Yersinia sp.; Wolbachia sp., Mycobacterium sp., Leishmania sp., Borrelia sp., Francisella sp. and Coxiella sp.) within fleas isolated from domestic and peridomestic animals in the southwestern region of Spain (Andalusia). Over a 19-months period, we obtained flea samples from dogs, cats and hedgehogs. A total of 812 fleas was collected for this study. Five different species were morphologically identified, including C. felis, C. canis, S. cuniculi, P. irritans, and A. erinacei. Wolbachia sp. was detected in all five species identified in our study which a total prevalence of 86%. Within Rickettsia genus, two different species, R. felis and R. asembonensis were mainly identified in C. felis and A. erinacei, respectively. On the other hand, our results revealed a total of 131 fleas testing positive for the presence of Bartonella sp., representing a prevalence rate of 16% for this genus identifying two species B. henselae and B. clarridgeiae. Lastly, both Y. pestis and L. infantum were detected in DNA of P. irritans and C. felis, respectively isolated from dogs. With these data we update the list of bacterial zoonotic agents found in fleas in Spain, emphasizing the need to continue conducting future experimental studies to assess and confirm the potential vectorial role of certain synanthropic fleas.