{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T19:03:25Z","timestamp":1787857405915,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,1]],"date-time":"2026-04-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1775001600000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["lww.com","ovid.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,4]]},"abstract":"\n Background & objectives:<\/jats:title>\n \n Rodents and arthropod vectors transmit zoonotic pathogens like\n Yersinia pestis<\/jats:italic>\n and\n Rickettsia typhi<\/jats:italic>\n , posing a threat to both veterinary and public health. The primary aim of this study was to record incidence of rat fleas, a vector for plague and murine typhus on synanthropic rodents, their epidemiology and molecular characterization.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods:<\/jats:title>\n \n A comprehensive survey of synanthropic rodents\n viz. Bandicota bengalensis<\/jats:italic>\n (190),\n Rattus rattus<\/jats:italic>\n (201), and\n Tatera indica<\/jats:italic>\n (180) across various habitats, including crop fields, poultry farms, fish markets, residential areas, shops, and railway stations in different seasons, was conducted to record the incidence of rat fleas. Fleas collected were identified morphologically, followed by molecular confirmation through PCR amplification of 28S rDNA gene and phylogenetic analysis.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results:<\/jats:title>\n \n Morphological and molecular analyses confirmed the flea species as\n Xenopsylla cheopis.<\/jats:italic>\n The nucleotide sequence obtained was submitted to GenBank (LC626773). The infestation rate varied among rodent species, with\n R. rattus<\/jats:italic>\n exhibiting the highest prevalence (55.72%), followed by\n B. bengalensis<\/jats:italic>\n (37.36%) and\n T. indica<\/jats:italic>\n (6.67%). Adult male rodents were more frequently infested. Seasonal variations revealed peak infestations during winter (36.41%), particularly among rodents from poultry farms (63.33%).\n R. rattus<\/jats:italic>\n posed the highestrisk for disease transmission (8.35), followed by\n B. bengalensis<\/jats:italic>\n (5.60).\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Interpretation & conclusion:<\/jats:title>\n \n This study highlights the critical role of\n R. rattus<\/jats:italic>\n and\n B. bengalensis<\/jats:italic>\n in spreading pathogens as primary hosts for\n X. cheopis.<\/jats:italic>\n These findings emphasize the need for integrated vector surveillance and targeted control measures to reduce the risk of flea-borne zoonoses in urban and peri-urban areas.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.4103\/jvbd.jvbd_52_25","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,7]],"date-time":"2025-08-07T08:00:06Z","timestamp":1754553606000},"page":"222-230","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1097\/lww.0000000000001000","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Incidence, molecular characterisation and epidemiology of Oriental rat flea, Xenopsylla cheopis (Rothschild, 1903) in synanthropic rodent hosts"],"prefix":"10.4103","volume":"63","author":[{"given":"Dimple","family":"Mandla","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Zoology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sukhmanpreet Kaur","family":"Brar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Zoology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shivani","family":"Rara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Zoology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Neena","family":"Singla","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Zoology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lachhman Das","family":"Singla","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Parasitology, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"276","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"R1-20260604","first-page":"1","article-title":"Patterns of flea infestation in rodents and insectivores from intensified agroecosystems, Northwest Spain","volume":"14","author":"Herrero","year":"2021","journal-title":"Parasites and Vectors"},{"key":"R2-20260604","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e667","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijid.2009.11.011","article-title":"Fleas and flea-borne diseases","volume":"14","author":"Bitam","year":"2010","journal-title":"International Journal of Infectious Diseases"},{"issue":"4","key":"R3-20260604","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1318","DOI":"10.1093\/jme\/tjaa026","article-title":"Presence of the Oriental Rat Flea (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) infesting an endemic mammal and confirmed plague circulation in a forest area of Madagascar","volume":"57","author":"Harimalala","year":"2020","journal-title":"Journal of Medical Entomology"},{"key":"R4-20260604","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"134","DOI":"10.4103\/0972-9062.263715","article-title":"Annotated checklist of fleas (Insecta: Siphonaptera) and lice (Insecta: Anoplura) associated with rodents in Iran, with new reports of fleas and lice","volume":"56","author":"Hamidi","year":"2019","journal-title":"Journal of Vector Borne Diseases"},{"key":"R5-20260604","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"124","DOI":"10.12788\/cutis.0072","article-title":"What\u2019s eating you? Oriental Rat Flea (Xenopsylla cheopis)","volume":"106","author":"Wells","year":"2020","journal-title":"Cutis"},{"issue":"343","key":"R6-20260604","first-page":"1","article-title":"Genetic differentiation of the oriental rat flea, Xenopsylla cheopis, from two sympatric host species","volume":"11","author":"Zhao","year":"2018","journal-title":"Parasites & Vectors"},{"issue":"1","key":"R7-20260604","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"146","DOI":"10.3390\/microorganisms12010146","article-title":"The natural and clinical history of Plague: From the ancient pandemics to modern insights","volume":"12","author":"Bennasar-Figueras","year":"2024","journal-title":"Microorganisms"},{"key":"R8-20260604","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1016\/j.onehlt.2024.100753","article-title":"The New South Wales mouse plague 2020-2021: A one health description","author":"White","year":"2024","journal-title":"One Health"},{"issue":"2","key":"R9-20260604","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"288","DOI":"10.31018\/jans.v5i2.318","article-title":"Biodiversity of rodent fleas in plague endemic areas of India","volume":"5","author":"Shelly","year":"2013","journal-title":"Journal of Applied and Natural Science"},{"issue":"6","key":"R10-20260604","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1128\/mSphere.00402-17","article-title":"Comparison of zoonotic bacterial agents in fleas collected from small mammals or host-seeking fleas from a Ugandan region where plague is endemic","volume":"2","author":"Bai","year":"2017","journal-title":"mSphere"},{"issue":"1","key":"R11-20260604","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.9734\/arrb\/2019\/v32i130074","article-title":"Prevalence of ectoparasitic infection of rodents captured near student hostels: Zoonotic implications","volume":"32","author":"Mustapha","year":"2019","journal-title":"Annual Research and Review in Biology"},{"key":"R15-20260604","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"48","DOI":"10.1128\/CMR.00008-13","article-title":"Laboratory identification of arthropod ectoparasites","volume":"27","author":"Mathison","year":"2014","journal-title":"Clinical Microbiology Reviews"},{"key":"R17-20260604","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"160","DOI":"10.1007\/BF02101694","article-title":"Dating of the human-ape splitting by a molecular clock of mitochondrial DNA","volume":"22","author":"Hasegawa","year":"1985","journal-title":"Journal of Molecular Evolution"},{"key":"R18-20260604","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1547","DOI":"10.1093\/molbev\/msy096","article-title":"MEGA X: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis across computing platforms","volume":"35","author":"Kumar","year":"2018","journal-title":"Molecular Biology and Evolution"},{"key":"R19-20260604","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"11030","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.0404206101","article-title":"Prospects for inferring very large phylogenies by using the neighbor-joining method","volume":"101","author":"Tamura","year":"2004","journal-title":"Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America"},{"key":"R20-20260604","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"783","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1558-5646.1985.tb00420.x","article-title":"Confidence limits on phylogenies: an approach using the bootstrap","volume":"39","author":"Felsenstein","year":"1985","journal-title":"Evolution"},{"issue":"4","key":"R21-20260604","first-page":"38","article-title":"Prevalence of ectoparasites in commensal rats in Dehradun, India","volume":"2","author":"Solanki","year":"2013","journal-title":"International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences"},{"issue":"2","key":"R22-20260604","first-page":"2","article-title":"Entomological surveillance for rodent and their ectoparasites with special reference to potential of scrub typhus at Kolkata Port Trust (KPT), Kolkata (India)","volume":"5","author":"Sharma","year":"2014","journal-title":"Journal of Paramedical Sciences"},{"issue":"1","key":"R23-20260604","first-page":"134","article-title":"Ectoparasites and endoparasites of peridomestic house rats in Ife-Ife, Nigeria and implication on human health","volume":"9","author":"Ogunniyi","year":"2014","journal-title":"Iranian Journal of Parasitology"},{"issue":"1","key":"R24-20260604","first-page":"35","article-title":"Parasites of house rats (Rattus rattus complex) in Mataram, Lombok, Indonesia","volume":"30","author":"Tresnani","year":"2016","journal-title":"Journal of Veterinary Parasitology"},{"key":"R25-20260604","first-page":"95","article-title":"Preliminary study: Detection of ecto- and endoparasites among wild rats from urban area in Blimbing, Malang, East Java","volume":"9","author":"Kusumarini","year":"2021","journal-title":"Acta Veterinaria Indonesiana"},{"issue":"3","key":"R26-20260604","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"218","DOI":"10.1080\/01647954.2021.1887932","article-title":"Ectoparasites of some wild rodents\/shrews captured from scrub typhus reported areas in Tamil Nadu, India","volume":"47","author":"Samuel","year":"2021","journal-title":"International Journal of Acarology"},{"issue":"1","key":"R27-20260604","first-page":"201","article-title":"Distribution and abundance of fleas and rodents of plague importance in the erstwhile endemic states and international seaports of India","volume":"61","author":"Reegan","year":"2025","journal-title":"Journal of Medical Entomology"},{"issue":"2","key":"R28-20260604","first-page":"288","article-title":"Biodiversity of rodent flea in plague endemic areas of India","volume":"5","author":"Mazumder","year":"2013","journal-title":"Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences"},{"issue":"6","key":"R29-20260604","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"825","DOI":"10.1017\/S0031182005008590","article-title":"Abundance and distribution of fleas on desert rodents: linking Taylor\u2019s power law to ecological specialization and epidemiology","volume":"131","author":"Krasnov","year":"2005","journal-title":"Parasitology"},{"key":"R30-20260604","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"337","DOI":"10.1007\/s00436-014-4231-z","article-title":"Sex differences in flea infections among rodent hosts: is there a male bias?","volume":"114","author":"Kowalski","year":"2015","journal-title":"Parasitology Research"},{"key":"R31-20260604","first-page":"1","article-title":"An assessment of rodent-flea diversity and association in a semi-arid tropical ecosystem of south-western Zimbabwe","volume":"00","author":"Banda","year":"2021","journal-title":"African Journal of Ecology"},{"issue":"11","key":"R32-20260604","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2996","DOI":"10.14202\/vetworld.2021.2996-3006","article-title":"Cross-sectional seasonal prevalence and relative risk of ectoparasitic infestations of rodents in North Sinai, Egypt","volume":"14","author":"Farid","year":"2021","journal-title":"Veterinary World"},{"issue":"2","key":"R33-20260604","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"328","DOI":"10.1093\/jmedent\/44.2.328","article-title":"Ectoparasite diversity and exposure to vector-borne disease agents in wild rodents in Central Coastal California","volume":"44","author":"Nieto","year":"2007","journal-title":"Journal of Medical Entomology"},{"issue":"1","key":"R34-20260604","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"505","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.ento.50.071803.130337","article-title":"Natural history of plague: perspectives from more than a century of research","volume":"50","author":"Gage","year":"2005","journal-title":"Annual Review of Entomology"},{"issue":"3","key":"R35-20260604","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"221","DOI":"10.1080\/10408410902989837","article-title":"Rodent-borne diseases and their risks for public health","volume":"55","author":"Meerburg","year":"2009","journal-title":"Critical Reviews in Microbiology"},{"issue":"3","key":"R36-20260604","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"893","DOI":"10.1093\/jme\/tjz248","article-title":"An evaluation of the flea index as a predictor of plague epizootics in the West Nile region of Uganda","volume":"57","author":"Eisen","year":"2020","journal-title":"Journal of Medical Entomology"},{"key":"R37-20260604","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.meegid.2021.105039","article-title":"Zoonotic vector-borne bacteria in wild rodents and associated ectoparasites from Tunisia","volume":"95","author":"Selmi","year":"2021","journal-title":"Infection Genetics and Evolution"},{"issue":"3","key":"R38-20260604","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"462","DOI":"10.4269\/ajtmh.12-0483","article-title":"Molecular detection and identification of Bartonella species in rat fleas from Northeastern Thailand","volume":"89","author":"Billeter","year":"2013","journal-title":"American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene"},{"issue":"2","key":"R39-20260604","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"179","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1749-4877.2009.00148.x","article-title":"Parasites of the Nile rat in rural and urban regions of Sudan","volume":"4","author":"Fagir","year":"2009","journal-title":"Integrative Zoology"},{"issue":"2","key":"R40-20260604","first-page":"1","article-title":"Overview of Hymenolepis diminuta infection among Thai patients","volume":"6","author":"Wiwanitkit","year":"2004","journal-title":"Med Gen Med"},{"issue":"8","key":"R41-20260604","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e0011401","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pntd.0011401","article-title":"Knockdown resistance mutations are common and widely distributed in Xenopsylla cheopis fleas that transmit plague in Madagascar","volume":"17","author":"Hutton","year":"2023","journal-title":"PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases"},{"issue":"2","key":"R42-20260604","first-page":"301","article-title":"Mapping plague risk using super species distribution models and forecasts for rodents in the Zhambyl Region, Kazakhstan","volume":"61","author":"Rametov","year":"2025","journal-title":"Journal of Medical Entomology"},{"key":"R43-20260604","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-024-51668-0","article-title":"Transovarial transmission of Yersinia pestis in its flea vector Xenopsylla cheopis","volume":"15","author":"Pauling","year":"2024","journal-title":"Nature Communications"}],"container-title":["Journal of Vector Borne Diseases"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.ovid.com\/10.4103\/jvbd.jvbd_52_25","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T20:05:43Z","timestamp":1787774743000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.ovid.com\/10.4103\/jvbd.jvbd_52_25"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,4]]},"references-count":39,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4103\/jvbd.jvbd_52_25","relation":{},"ISSN":["0972-9062"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0972-9062","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,4]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2025-03-15","name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2025-08-01","name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}]}}