An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of Rickettsia typhi antigen in homogenates of pooled or individual laboratory infected fleas is described. The assay uses a double sandwich technique, employing a pool of monoclonal antibodies to capture the antigen and a hyperimmune rabbit serum for antigen detection. Using pools of R. typhi infected Xenopsylla cheopis, Ctenocephal...

The presence of submerged macrophytes is a desired environmental target for coastal freshwater ecosystems. Maintaining rich community these species can be challenging as salinisation by sea-level rise poses an increasing threat to ecosystem integrity. We tested the effect on growth and germination experimentally using field sediment. In 56-day experiment, macrophyte was exposed salinity treatme...

Bartonella spp. are erythrocytic bacteria transmitted via arthropod vectors, which infect a broad range of vertebrate hosts, including humans. We investigated transmission dynamics and host-parasite-vector relationships for potentially zoonotic Bartonella spp. in invasive Rattus rattus hosts and associated arthropod ectoparasites in Madagascar. We identified five distinct species of Bartonella ...

OBJECTIVES Earthquakes are one the most common natural disasters that lead to increased mortality and morbidity from transmissible diseases, partially because the rodents displaced by an earthquake can lead to an increased rate of disease transmission. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of plague and tularemia in rodents in the earthquake zones in southeastern Iran. METHODS ...

BACKGROUND Bartonellae are fastidious bacteria causing persistent bacteremia in humans and a wide variety of animals. In recent years there is an increasing interest in mammalian bartonelloses in general and in rodent bartonelloses in particular. To date, no studies investigating the presence of Bartonella spp. in rodents and ectoparasites from Nigeria were carried out. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL ...

In Brants’ whistling rat, Parotomys brantsii, single animals inhabit unusually complex burrow systems containing several nest chambers. We investigated burrow use and examined the effect of ectoparasites on choice of alternative nest chambers by radiotelemetrically monitoring the nocturnal sleeping locations of individual whistling rats, before and after treating them to remove ectoparasites. P...

The opgGH operon encodes glucosyltransferases that synthesize osmoregulated periplasmic glucans (OPGs) from UDP-glucose, using acyl carrier protein (ACP) as a cofactor. OPGs are required for motility, biofilm formation, and virulence in various bacteria. OpgH also sequesters FtsZ in order to regulate cell size according to nutrient availability. Yersinia pestis (the agent of flea-borne plague) ...

Ectoparasites were sampled from small mammals collected in West Java, West Sumatra, North Sulawesi, and East Kalimantan, Indonesia, in 2007-2008 and were screened for evidence of infection from bacteria in the Rickettsaceae family. During eight trap nights at eight sites, 208 fleas were collected from 96 of 507 small mammals trapped from four orders (379 Rodentia; 123 Soricomorpha; two Carnivor...