{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,9]],"date-time":"2026-10-09T04:49:41Z","timestamp":1791521381361,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":55,"publisher":"American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene","issue":"2","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2018,8,2]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Presently, few studies have investigated the role of domestic cats (<jats:italic>Felis catus<\/jats:italic>) in the recrudescence of flea-borne rickettsioses in California and the southern United States. In this study, we aimed to investigate the presence of <jats:italic>Rickettsia typhi<\/jats:italic> or <jats:italic>Rickettisa felis<\/jats:italic> in domestic cats (<jats:italic>F. catus<\/jats:italic>) and the fleas (primarily <jats:italic>Ctenocephalides felis<\/jats:italic>, the cat flea) associated with these cats in Riverside County, California. Thirty cats and 64 pools of fleas collected from these cats were investigated for rickettsial infections. Three cats and 17 flea pools (from 10 cats) tested positive for rickettsial infections. polymerase chain reaction and DNA sequencing indicated that one of the cats was positive for <jats:italic>R. felis<\/jats:italic> infections, whereas two were positive for <jats:italic>Candidatus Rickettsia<\/jats:italic> senegalensis infection. In addition, 12 of the flea pools were positive for <jats:italic>R. felis<\/jats:italic>, whereas five were positive for <jats:italic>Ca. R.<\/jats:italic> senegalensis. By contrast, no cats or their associated fleas tested positive for <jats:italic>R. typhi<\/jats:italic>. Finally, eight sera from these cats contained spotted fever group <jats:italic>Rickettsia<\/jats:italic> (SFGR) antibodies. The detection of <jats:italic>R. felis<\/jats:italic> and SFGR antibodies and the lack of <jats:italic>R. typhi<\/jats:italic> and TGR antibodies support <jats:italic>R. felis<\/jats:italic> as the main rickettsial species infecting cat fleas. The detection of <jats:italic>Ca. R.<\/jats:italic> senegalensis in both fleas and cats also provides additional evidence that cats and their associated fleas are infected with other <jats:italic>R. felis<\/jats:italic>\u2013like organisms highlighting the potential risk for human infections with <jats:italic>R. felis<\/jats:italic> or <jats:italic>R. felis<\/jats:italic>\u2013like organisms.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4269\/ajtmh.17-0706","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2018,6,5]],"date-time":"2018-06-05T07:00:40Z","timestamp":1528182040000},"page":"291-296","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":25,"title":["Rickettsial Infections among Cats and Cat Fleas in Riverside County, California"],"prefix":"10.4269","volume":"99","author":[{"given":"Kristin E.","family":"Mullins","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Naval Medical Research Center, Silver Spring, Maryland;"},{"name":"University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alice N.","family":"Maina","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Naval Medical Research Center, Silver Spring, Maryland;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Laura","family":"Krueger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District, Garden Grove, California;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ju","family":"Jiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Naval Medical Research Center, Silver Spring, Maryland;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Robert","family":"Cummings","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District, Garden Grove, California;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Allan","family":"Drusys","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Riverside County Department of Animal Services, Riverside, California;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Greg","family":"Williams","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Northwest Mosquito and Vector Control District, Corona, California;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Major","family":"Dhillon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Northwest Mosquito and Vector Control District, Corona, California;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Allen L.","family":"Richards","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Naval Medical Research Center, Silver Spring, Maryland;"},{"name":"Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2795","reference":[{"key":"b1","series-title":"Cal West Med","first-page":"116","article-title":"Endemic typhus fever in southern California","volume":"62","author":"Meleney","year":"1945"},{"key":"b2","series-title":"Am J Public Health Nations Health","first-page":"219","article-title":"Recent extension of endemic typhus fever in the southern United States","volume":"31","author":"Meleney","year":"1941"},{"key":"b3","series-title":"Cal State. J Med","first-page":"29","article-title":"Typhus exanthematicus in San Francisco","volume":"15","author":"Brill","year":"1917"},{"key":"b4","series-title":"Br J Exp Pathol","first-page":"53","article-title":"Comparative studies of the louse-borne (epidemic) and flea-borne (murine) typhus viruses","volume":"17","author":"Kligler","year":"1936"},{"key":"b5","series-title":"Am J Public Health","first-page":"396","article-title":"Evaluation of county-wide DDT dusting operations in murine typhus control (1946 through 1949)","volume":"41","author":"Hill","year":"1951"},{"key":"b6","series-title":"Am J Trop Med Hyg","first-page":"400","article-title":"Infection of colonized cat fleas, Ctenocephalides felis (Bouche), with a Rickettsia-like microorganism","volume":"43","author":"Adams","year":"1990"},{"key":"b7","series-title":"Annu Rev Entomol","first-page":"553","article-title":"Epidemiology of murine typhus","volume":"35","author":"Azad","year":"1990"},{"key":"b8","series-title":"Clin Infect Dis","first-page":"913","article-title":"Murine typhus: an unrecognized suburban vectorborne disease","volume":"46","author":"Civen","year":"2008"},{"key":"b9","series-title":"Postgrad Med J","first-page":"269","article-title":"Rickettsial diseases: the typhus group of fevers\u2014a review","volume":"76","author":"Cowan","year":"2000"},{"key":"b10","series-title":"J Med Entomol","first-page":"681","article-title":"Murine typhus: updated roles of multiple urban components and a second typhuslike Rickettsia","volume":"31","author":"Schriefer","year":"1994"},{"key":"b11","series-title":"Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis","first-page":"979","article-title":"Urban focus of Rickettsia typhi and Rickettsia felis in Los Angeles, California","volume":"11","author":"Abramowicz","year":"2011"},{"key":"b12","series-title":"Emerg Infect Dis","first-page":"319","article-title":"Flea-borne rickettsioses: ecologic considerations","volume":"3","author":"Azad","year":"1997"},{"key":"b13","series-title":"Am J Trop Med Hyg","first-page":"269","article-title":"A suburban focus of endemic typhus in Los Angeles County: association with seropositive domestic cats and opossums","volume":"48","author":"Sorvillo","year":"1993"},{"key":"b14","series-title":"J Med Entomol","first-page":"1485","article-title":"Two pathogens and one disease: detection and identification of flea-borne rickettsiae in areas endemic for murine typhus in California","volume":"49","author":"Eremeeva","year":"2012"},{"key":"b15","series-title":"Clin Microbiol Infect","first-page":"218","article-title":"Detection of Rickettsia felis and Rickettsia typhi in an area of California endemic for murine typhus","volume":"15","author":"Karpathy","year":"2009"},{"key":"b16","series-title":"Annu Rev Entomol","first-page":"451","article-title":"The biology, ecology, and management of the cat flea","volume":"42","author":"Rust","year":"1997"},{"key":"b17"},{"key":"b18","author":"California Department of Public Health","year":"2018"},{"key":"b19","series-title":"Med Vet Entomol","first-page":"458","article-title":"Rickettsia felis in cat fleas, Ctenocephalides felis parasitizing opossums, San Bernardino County, California","volume":"26","author":"Abramowicz","year":"2012"},{"key":"b20","series-title":"PLoS One","first-page":"e0160604","article-title":"Rickettsial infections among Ctenocephalides felis and host animals during a flea-borne rickettsioses outbreak in Orange County, California","volume":"11","author":"Maina","year":"2016"},{"key":"b21","series-title":"J Clin Microbiol","first-page":"949","article-title":"Identification of a novel rickettsial infection in a patient diagnosed with murine typhus","volume":"32","author":"Schriefer","year":"1994"},{"key":"b22","series-title":"Clin Microbiol Infect","first-page":"996","article-title":"Rickettsia felis: from a rare disease in the USA to a common cause of fever in sub-Saharan Africa","volume":"17","author":"Parola","year":"2011"},{"key":"b23","series-title":"Emerg Infect Dis","first-page":"1019","article-title":"Rickettsia felis as emergent global threat for humans","volume":"14","author":"P\u00e9rez-Osorio","year":"2008"},{"key":"b24","series-title":"Int J Med Microbiol","first-page":"529","article-title":"Severe human infection with Rickettsia felis associated with hepatitis in Yucatan, Mexico","volume":"299","author":"Zavala-Castro","year":"2009"},{"key":"b25","series-title":"Emerg Infect Dis","first-page":"1081","article-title":"Human infection with Rickettsia felis, Kenya","volume":"16","author":"Richards","year":"2010"},{"key":"b26","series-title":"J Med Entomol","first-page":"4","article-title":"Limited evidence for Rickettsia felis as a cause of zoonotic flea-borne rickettsiosis in southern California","volume":"54","author":"Billeter","year":"2017"},{"key":"b27","series-title":"Tex Med","first-page":"56","article-title":"Rickettsia felis infection rates in an east Texas population","volume":"101","author":"Wiggers","year":"2005"},{"key":"b28","series-title":"Am J Trop Med Hyg","first-page":"1088","article-title":"Fatal flea-borne typhus in Texas: a retrospective case series, 1985\u20132015","volume":"96","author":"Pieracci","year":"2017"},{"key":"b29","series-title":"Am J Trop Med Hyg","first-page":"1301","article-title":"Rickettsia typhi and Rickettsia felis in Xenopsylla cheopis and Leptopsylla segnis parasitizing rats in Cyprus","volume":"83","author":"Christou","year":"2010"},{"key":"b30","series-title":"Emerg Infect Dis","first-page":"1613","article-title":"Rickettsia typhi and R. felis in rat fleas (Xenopsylla cheopis), Oahu, Hawaii","volume":"14","author":"Eremeeva","year":"2008"},{"key":"b31","series-title":"Eur J Epidemiol","first-page":"109","article-title":"Domestic cats as indicators of the presence of spotted fever and typhus group rickettsiae","volume":"13","author":"Matthewman","year":"1997"},{"key":"b32","series-title":"J Vector Ecol","first-page":"123","article-title":"Infection and seroconversion of cats exposed to cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis Bouche) infected with Rickettsia felis","volume":"25","author":"Wedincamp","year":"2000"},{"key":"b33","author":"American Veterinary Medical Association","year":"2013"},{"key":"b34","series-title":"Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis","first-page":"175","article-title":"Detection of Rickettsia parkeri and Candidatus Rickettsia andeanae in Amblyomma maculatum Gulf Coast ticks collected from humans in the United States","volume":"12","author":"Jiang","year":"2012"},{"key":"b35","series-title":"Mol Cell Probes","first-page":"17","article-title":"Development of quantitative real-time PCR assays to detect Rickettsia typhi and Rickettsia felis, the causative agents of murine typhus and flea-borne spotted fever","volume":"21","author":"Henry","year":"2007"},{"key":"b36","series-title":"PLoS Negl Trop Dis","first-page":"e3152","article-title":"Detection of Rickettsia felis, Rickettsia typhi, Bartonella species and Yersinia pestis in fleas (Siphonaptera) from Africa","volume":"8","author":"Leulmi","year":"2014"},{"key":"b37","series-title":"Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis","first-page":"550","article-title":"Molecular detection of Rickettsia felis and Candidatus rickettsia asemboensis in fleas from human habitats, Asembo, Kenya","volume":"13","author":"Jiang","year":"2013"},{"key":"b38","series-title":"Mol Biol Evol","first-page":"2725","article-title":"MEGA6: molecular evolutionary genetics analysis version 6.0","volume":"30","author":"Tamura","year":"2013"},{"key":"b39","series-title":"Clin Infect Dis","first-page":"70","article-title":"Prevalence of seropositivity to spotted fever group rickettsiae and Anaplasma phagocytophilum in a large, demographically diverse US sample","volume":"46","author":"Graf","year":"2008"},{"key":"b40","series-title":"Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis","first-page":"151","article-title":"Detection of Rickettsia species in fleas collected from cats in regions endemic and nonendemic for flea-borne rickettsioses in California","volume":"16","author":"Billeter","year":"2016"},{"key":"b41","series-title":"J Vector Ecol","first-page":"310","article-title":"Bartonella and Rickettsia in fleas and lice from mammals in south Carolina, USA","volume":"30","author":"Reeves","year":"2005"},{"key":"b42","series-title":"Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis","first-page":"476","article-title":"Development and validation of a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assay specific for the detection of Rickettsia felis and not Rickettsia felis-like organisms","volume":"14","author":"Odhiambo","year":"2014"},{"key":"b43","series-title":"Ann N Y Acad Sci","first-page":"173","article-title":"Identification of Rickettsia spp. and Bartonella spp. from the Thai-Myanmar border","volume":"990","author":"Parola","year":"2003"},{"key":"b44","series-title":"Parasit Vectors","first-page":"455","article-title":"\u2018Candidatus Rickettsia asemboensis\u2019 and Wolbachia spp. in Ctenocephalides felis and Pulex irritans fleas removed from dogs in Ecuador","volume":"7","author":"Oteo","year":"2014"},{"key":"b45","series-title":"Clin Diagn Lab Immunol","first-page":"221","article-title":"Antigenic classification of Rickettsia felis by using monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies","volume":"10","author":"Fang","year":"2003"},{"key":"b46","series-title":"J Feline Med Surg","first-page":"258","article-title":"Prevalence of Rickettsia felis DNA in the blood of cats and their fleas in the United States","volume":"9","author":"Hawley","year":"2007"},{"key":"b47","series-title":"Med J Aust","first-page":"41","article-title":"First probable Australian cases of human infection with Rickettsia felis (cat-flea typhus)","volume":"194","author":"Williams","year":"2011"},{"key":"b48","series-title":"Emerg Infect Dis","first-page":"167","article-title":"Rickettsia felis infections, New Zealand","volume":"18","author":"Lim","year":"2012"},{"key":"b49","series-title":"Zoonoses Public Health","first-page":"189","article-title":"Zoonotic diseases associated with free-roaming cats","volume":"60","author":"Gerhold","year":"2013"},{"key":"b50","series-title":"Parasit Vectors","first-page":"247","article-title":"Detection of vector-borne pathogens in cats and their ectoparasites in southern Italy","volume":"9","author":"Persichetti","year":"2016"},{"key":"b51","series-title":"JFMS Open Rep","first-page":"2055116916634109","article-title":"Prevalence of selected infectious disease agents in stray cats in Catalonia, Spain","volume":"2","author":"Ravicini","year":"2016"},{"key":"b52","series-title":"J Am Vet Med Assoc","first-page":"1354","article-title":"Humane strategies for controlling feral cat populations","volume":"225","author":"Levy","year":"2004"},{"key":"b53","series-title":"Vet Parasitol","first-page":"129","article-title":"Prevalence of ectoparasites in a population of feral cats from north central Florida during the summer","volume":"109","author":"Akucewich","year":"2002"},{"key":"b54","series-title":"Pediatr Infect Dis J","first-page":"163","article-title":"A cluster of pediatric endemic typhus cases in Orange County, California","volume":"30","author":"Green","year":"2011"},{"key":"b55","first-page":"65","author":"Croker","year":"2015"}],"container-title":["The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.ajtmh.org\/view\/journals\/tpmd\/99\/2\/article-p291.xml","content-type":"text\/html","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/www.ajtmh.org\/downloadpdf\/journals\/tpmd\/99\/2\/article-p291.xml","content-type":"text\/html","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"syndication"},{"URL":"https:\/\/www.ajtmh.org\/downloadpdf\/journals\/tpmd\/99\/2\/article-p291.xml","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,31]],"date-time":"2024-07-31T19:25:23Z","timestamp":1722453923000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.ajtmh.org\/view\/journals\/tpmd\/99\/2\/article-p291.xml"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2018,8,2]]},"references-count":55,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2"},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4269\/ajtmh.17-0706","relation":{},"ISSN":["0002-9637","1476-1645"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0002-9637","type":"print"},{"value":"1476-1645","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2018,8,2]]}}}