Plague is a flea-borne zoonosis caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Y. pestis mutants lacking the yersiniabactin (Ybt) siderophore-based iron transport system are avirulent when inoculated intradermally but fully virulent when inoculated intravenously in mice. Presumably, Ybt is required to provide sufficient iron at the peripheral injection site, suggesting that Ybt would be an essential ...

An understanding on host-parasite interaction is essential for control of disease causing organisms in domestic animals. The cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis (Bouché) is the predominant flea infesting dogs and cats in Taiwan. It was collected from 933 dogs and 197 cats from Taiwan. A total of 5878 C. felis adults were recovered; 14.6% fleas were observed to harbor Steinina ctenocephali. Female f...

Dr. Phyllis T. Johnson, of the Entomology Research Division, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington D. C, most kindly invited me to describe a new bird-flea, material of which was found in the collections of the U. S. National Museum. The specimens of the new flea were collected from the nest of a barn swallow and are part of a series which constitutes the first record of fleas from the No...

During February 2004 and September 2005, Xenopsylla cheopis were collected from small mammal hosts during rodent-bone disease surveys in Jakarta and Bandung, Indonesia. During 4 trap nights in Jakarta, 4 rodent species (Rattus exulans, Rattus norvegicus, Rattus tanezumi and Mus musculus) and one shrew species (Suncus murinus) were collected. Rattus tanezumi had the highest X. cheopis load (128 ...

Gryphopsylla maxomydis n. sp. (Pygiopsyllidae), Medwayella rubrisciurae n. sp. (Pygiopsyllidae) and Macrostylophora theresae n. sp. (Ceratophyllidae) are described from endemic rodents in Sulawesi. Gryphopsylla maxomydis was collected from the murids Maxomys musschenbroekii and Paruromys dominator in Central Sulawesi (Sulawesi Tengah). However, M. musschenbroekii appears to be the true host of ...

Flea-borne zoonoses such as plague (Yersinia pestis) and murine typhus (Rickettsia typhi) caused significant numbers of human cases in the past and remain a public health concern. Other flea-borne human pathogens have emerged recently (e.g., Bartonella henselae, Rickettsia felis), and their mechanisms of transmission and impact on human health are not fully understood. Our review focuses on the...

Flea and tick specimens (5-10 fleas or ticks) on dogs and cats from various sites in Bangkok were tested by polymerase chain reaction and DNA sequencing to detect DNA of bacteria Rickettsia (gltA and 17 kDa genes), Anaplasmataceae (16S rRNA gene), and Bartonella (pap31 and its genes). We confirmed that Rickettsia sp. related to Rickettsia felis was detected in 66 of 98 (67.4%) flea specimens fr...

Rickettsia felis, the agent of flea-borne spotted fever, has a cosmopolitan distribution. Its pathogenic role in humans has been demonstrated through molecular and serologic tests in several cases. The cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) is considered the main reservoir and the biological vector. The aim of this study was to assess the presence and occurrence of R. felis in fleas collected from do...