Presence of Rickettsia felis in the cat flea from southwestern Europe

Francisco J Márquez; Miguel A Muniain; Jesús M Pérez; Jerónimo Pachón

doi:10.3201/eid0801.010193

Presence of Rickettsia felis in the cat flea from southwestern Europe

Emerg Infect Dis. 2002 Jan;8(1):89-91. doi: 10.3201/eid0801.010193.

Authors

Francisco J Márquez¹, Miguel A Muniain, Jesús M Pérez, Jerónimo Pachón

Affiliation

¹ Departamento de Biología Animal, Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Universidad de Jaén, Paraje Las Lagunillas s/n, 23071 Jaén, Spain. jmarquez@ujaen.es

Abstract

Rickettsia felis, formerly called ELB agent, was identified by using molecular biology techniques in the cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis felis) from southwestern Spain. For the first time this flea-transmitted rickettsia has been detected within its vector in Eurasia.

MeSH terms

Animals
Cat Diseases / parasitology
Cats
Dog Diseases / parasitology
Dogs
Ectoparasitic Infestations / parasitology
Ectoparasitic Infestations / veterinary
Female
Insect Vectors / microbiology*
Male
Microscopy, Electron / veterinary
Polymerase Chain Reaction / veterinary
Rickettsia / genetics
Rickettsia / isolation & purification*
Rickettsia Infections / transmission*
Siphonaptera / microbiology*
Spain