{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,19]],"date-time":"2026-06-19T14:34:53Z","timestamp":1781879693927,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":67,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,6,22]],"date-time":"2024-06-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1719014400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":21,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Public Health Challenges"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024,6]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>Fleas infest rodents and other small mammals, serving as vectors for zoonotic diseases such as plague. This study investigates the flea burden on rodents and its associated determinants within the plague\u2010endemic localities of Karatu district, Tanzania.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>A repeated cross\u2010sectional design was employed to capture rodents with Sherman traps in farmland, peridomestic area, bush land, and forest buffer zones across the wet and dry seasons of 2022 in plague and nonplague foci villages. Captured rodents were anaesthetized and thoroughly brushed to collect fleas, which were then identified using a dichotomous key.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>A total of 291 rodents (9 species) were captured, from which 190 fleas (4 species) were collected. The collected fleas were <jats:italic>Dinopsyllus lypusus<\/jats:italic> (46.32%), <jats:italic>Ctenophthalmus<\/jats:italic> sp (26.84%), <jats:italic>Xenopsylla brasiliensis<\/jats:italic> (16.32%), and <jats:italic>Xenopsylla cheopis<\/jats:italic> (10.53%). Approximately 38.42% of fleas were found on <jats:italic>Mastomys natalensis<\/jats:italic>, 22.63% on <jats:italic>Lemniscomys striatus<\/jats:italic>, and 18.42% on <jats:italic>Rattus rattus<\/jats:italic>. High flea abundance was recorded in farmland and peridomestic areas. The specific flea index (SFI) of <jats:italic>X. cheopis<\/jats:italic> on <jats:italic>R. rattus<\/jats:italic> was 1.0 in plague foci and &lt;0.5 in nonplague foci. A generalized linear model revealed significant influences of rodent species, season, habitats, rodent weight, sex, and plague locations on flea abundance. Significant variation was observed between rodent sexes (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u00a0=\u00a00.009), and a weak positive correlation existed between rodent weight and flea abundance (<jats:italic>R<\/jats:italic>\u00a0=\u00a00.17, <jats:italic>p\u00a0<\/jats:italic>&lt;\u00a00.05).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>Villages in plague foci exhibited higher abundances of fleas in comparison to nonplague foci villages. The SFI results for <jats:italic>X. cheopis<\/jats:italic> on rats in both types of villages did not surpass critical thresholds. Factors such as dry season, farmlands, and rodent characteristics influenced flea abundance on rodents in the study area.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1002\/puh2.201","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,6,22]],"date-time":"2024-06-22T11:00:34Z","timestamp":1719054034000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Flea Burden on Rodents and Its Associated Determinants in Plague\u2010Endemic Localities of Karatu District, Tanzania: A Cross\u2010Sectional Study"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"3","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-5462-9840","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Joshua Reuben","family":"Jakoniko","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Medicine and Public Health Sokoine University of Agriculture  Morogoro Tanzania"},{"name":"African Centre of Excellence for Innovative Rodent Pest Management and Biosensor Technology Development  Morogoro Tanzania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Apia","family":"Massawe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"African Centre of Excellence for Innovative Rodent Pest Management and Biosensor Technology Development  Morogoro Tanzania"},{"name":"Institute of Pest Management Sokoine University of Agriculture  Morogoro Tanzania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Elisa Daniel","family":"Mwega","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Microbiology Parasitology and Biotechnology Sokoine University of Agriculture  Morogoro Tanzania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Stella Thadeus","family":"Kessy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Life Science and Bio Engineering Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology  Arusha Tanzania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,6,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_10_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-030-42484-8_1"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/insects11120894"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s13071-022-05334-3"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1089\/vbz.2020.2625"},{"issue":"2","key":"e_1_2_10_6_1","first-page":"339","article-title":"In\u2010Vitro Studies on Biology of Ctenocephalides orientis Fleas Infesting Sheep and Goat","volume":"5","author":"Ashwini M.","year":"2017","journal-title":"Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_7_1","volume-title":"Fleas and Ticks in Small Animals","author":"Gram W. 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