{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,2]],"date-time":"2025-11-02T10:36:07Z","timestamp":1762079767402,"version":"3.40.5"},"reference-count":77,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,11,4]],"date-time":"2020-11-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1604448000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/termsAndConditions#vor"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Zoonoses and Public Health"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2020,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:p><jats:italic>Rickettsia felis<\/jats:italic> is an obligate intracellular Gram\u2010negative bacterium which causes flea\u2010borne spotted fever in humans. In the past decades, <jats:italic>R.\u00a0felis<\/jats:italic> has been detected worldwide in <jats:italic>Ctenocephalides felis<\/jats:italic> fleas and various other arthropods. However, due to its shared symptoms with other common vector\u2010borne diseases, human infection is prone to be underestimated or misdiagnosed, especially in the malaria\u2010endemic areas including sub\u2010Saharan Africa, where confirmatory laboratory diagnoses are not usually available. In this study, a \u2018One Health\u2019 approach was adopted to explore potential vector\u2010borne and zoonotic pathogens in the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe (DRSTP), an island nation in the Gulf of Guinea. By collaborating with local veterinarians, 1,187 fleas were collected from 95 domestic dogs across the country and later identified as <jats:italic>Ct.\u00a0felis<\/jats:italic> using taxonomic keys. A cytochrome oxidase gene\u2010based phylogenetic analysis revealed that all collected fleas belonged to a single haplotype and were identical to isolates from Ivory Coast and Brazil that clustered into a clade of tropical distribution. Additional samples of 14 chigoe fleas (<jats:italic>Tunga penetrans<\/jats:italic>) were collected from the surrounding environment of the dogs\u2019 resting spots. <jats:italic>Rickettsia felis<\/jats:italic> infection in fleas was examined by molecular methods targeting the citrate synthase (<jats:italic>gltA<\/jats:italic>)\u2010 and outer membrane protein A (<jats:italic>ompA<\/jats:italic>)\u2010coding genes as well as the <jats:italic>R.\u00a0felis\u2010<\/jats:italic>specific pRF plasmid. The bacterial DNA was detected in 21.01% (146\/695) of cat fleas but none of the chigoe fleas. Microimmunofluorescence assay was then performed to assess pathogen exposure of the residents. Of 240 dried blood spots from participants with dog contacts, 8 (3.33%) exhibited <jats:italic>R.\u00a0felis<\/jats:italic> antibodies. Our findings demonstrated the presence of <jats:italic>R.\u00a0felis<\/jats:italic> in DRSTP. Further extensive epidemiological studies regarding its prevalence and its role in causing febrile illness while the nation is entering pre\u2010elimination stage of malaria will be carried out.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1111\/zph.12776","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,11,4]],"date-time":"2020-11-04T13:26:16Z","timestamp":1604496376000},"page":"892-902","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Investigation of <i>Ctenocephalides felis<\/i> on domestic dogs and <i>Rickettsia felis<\/i> infection in the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe"],"prefix":"10.1111","volume":"67","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6154-113X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kun\u2010Hsien","family":"Tsai","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences College of Public Health National Taiwan University Taipei Taiwan"},{"name":"Department of Public Health College of Public Health National Taiwan University Taipei Taiwan"},{"name":"Department of Entomology College of Bioresources and Agriculture National Taiwan University Taipei Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Tsai\u2010Ying","family":"Yen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences College of Public Health National Taiwan University Taipei Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Wen\u2010Jer","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Entomology College of Bioresources and Agriculture National Taiwan University Taipei Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ronalg","family":"Carvalho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Taiwanese Medical Mission Sao Tome Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Didier","family":"Raoult","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Aix\u2010Marseille Univ IRD AP\u2010HM SSA VITROME IHU M\u00e9diterran\u00e9e Infection Marseille France"},{"name":"French Reference Center for Rickettsioses Q fever and Bartonelloses Unit\u00e9 de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE) UM63 CNRS 7278 IRD 198 Inserm 1095 Marseille France"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Pierre\u2010Edouard","family":"Fournier","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Aix\u2010Marseille Univ IRD AP\u2010HM SSA VITROME IHU M\u00e9diterran\u00e9e Infection Marseille France"},{"name":"French Reference Center for Rickettsioses Q fever and Bartonelloses Unit\u00e9 de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE) UM63 CNRS 7278 IRD 198 Inserm 1095 Marseille France"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,11,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_10_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3402\/ehtj.v4i0.7168"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4269\/ajtmh.1990.43.400"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4269\/ajtmh.2012.11-0424"},{"issue":"3","key":"e_1_2_10_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"319","DOI":"10.3201\/eid0303.970308","article-title":"Flea\u2010borne rickettsioses: Ecologic considerations","volume":"3","author":"Azad A. 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