title: Rickettsia felis and Bartonella henselae in fleas from Lebanon.
abstract: A total of 155 fleas collected in 2009 in Lebanon from 16 cats (104 Ctenocephalides felis specimens, 1 C. canis specimen) and 2 dogs (50 C. canis specimens) were tested for the presence of Rickettsia spp. and Bartonella spp. using molecular methods, including real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR), regular PCR, and sequencing of amplified PCR products. Rickettsia felis, the agent of the emerging flea-borne spotted fever in humans, was identified in 17 (16%) C. felis cat fleas. Bartonella henselae, an agent of cat scratch disease, was identified in three (2.9%) C. felis. Our results emphasize the potential risk of these emerging flea-borne infections in Lebanon.
authors.affiliation: Unité de Recherche en Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes, UMR CNRS 6236-IRD UMR 198, Faculté de Médecine, WHO Collaborative Center for Rickettsioses and Other Arthropod Borne Bacterial Diseases, Université de la Méditerranée, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Pamela Angue
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Mba
authors.forename: Jean-Lou
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Marié
authors.forename: Jean-Marc
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Rolain
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Davoust
authors.forename: Jean-Claude
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Beaucournu
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raoult
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Parola
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018416:Bartonella henselae / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002415:Cats; D058251:Ctenocephalides / Q000382:microbiology; D030561:Databases, Nucleic Acid; D004285:Dogs; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000382:microbiology*; D007861:Lebanon; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D041161:Rickettsia felis / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005423:Siphonaptera / Q000382:microbiology*