title: Endosymbionts of Ctenocephalides felis felis (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) obtained from dogs captured in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
abstract: Specimens of fleas Ctenocephalides felis felis (1052 female symbol/448 male symbol), obtained from 150 dogs in Centro de Controle de Zoonoses de Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, were dissected and examined for endosymbionts. Three protozoan, Nolleria pulicis, a gregarine (Actinocephalidae) and Leptomonas sp., together with one cestode, Dipylidium caninum were identified. Infections by N. pulicis and Leptomonas sp. occurred mainly in the warm-rainy period. The prevalence and distribution of these endosymbionts in fleas derived from Brazil and South America, and the their variation according to sex and season, are reported for the first time.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Caixa Postal 486, Avenida Antônio Carlos, 6627, Campus UFMG, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, 31270-901, Brazil.
authors.forename: Daniel M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: de Avelar
authors.forename: Adamastor S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Bussolotti
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: do Carmo A Ramos
authors.forename: Pedro M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Linardi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D002589:Cestoda / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology; D002980:Climate; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D004285:Dogs; D004478:Ectoparasitic Infestations / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D056890:Eukaryota / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D008297:Male; D012621:Seasons; D005423:Siphonaptera / Q000469:parasitology*; D013559:Symbiosis