title: Transmission potential of Rickettsia felis infection by Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes.
abstract: A growing number of recent reports have implicated Rickettsia felis as a human pathogen, paralleling the increasing detection of R. felis in arthropod hosts across the globe, primarily in fleas. Here Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes, the primary malarial vectors in sub-Saharan Africa, were fed with either blood meal infected with R. felis or infected cellular media administered in membrane feeding systems. In addition, a group of mosquitoes was fed on R. felis-infected BALB/c mice. The acquisition and persistence of R. felis in mosquitoes was demonstrated by quantitative PCR detection of the bacteria up to day 15 postinfection. R. felis was detected in mosquito feces up to day 14. Furthermore, R. felis was visualized by immunofluorescence in salivary glands, in and around the gut, and in the ovaries, although no vertical transmission was observed. R. felis was also found in the cotton used for sucrose feeding after the mosquitoes were fed infected blood. Natural bites from R. felis-infected An. gambiae were able to cause transient rickettsemias in mice, indicating that this mosquito species has the potential to be a vector of R. felis infection. This is particularly important given the recent report of high prevalence of R. felis infection in patients with "fever of unknown origin" in malaria-endemic areas.
authors.affiliation: Faculté de Médecine, Aix Marseille Université, Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses Tropicales et Emergentes, UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, INSERM 1095, 13385 Marseille Cedex 5, France; Laboratoire d'Ecologie Vectorielle et Parasitaire, Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar, BP 5005 Dakar, Senegal.
authors.forename: Constentin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dieme
authors.affiliation: Faculté de Médecine, Aix Marseille Université, Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses Tropicales et Emergentes, UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, INSERM 1095, 13385 Marseille Cedex 5, France;
authors.forename: Yassina
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bechah
authors.affiliation: Faculté de Médecine, Aix Marseille Université, Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses Tropicales et Emergentes, UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, INSERM 1095, 13385 Marseille Cedex 5, France;
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Socolovschi
authors.affiliation: Faculté de Médecine, Aix Marseille Université, Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses Tropicales et Emergentes, UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, INSERM 1095, 13385 Marseille Cedex 5, France;
authors.forename: Gilles
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Audoly
authors.affiliation: Faculté de Médecine, Aix Marseille Université, Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses Tropicales et Emergentes, UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, INSERM 1095, 13385 Marseille Cedex 5, France;
authors.forename: Jean-Michel
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8497-2792
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Berenger
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Ecologie Vectorielle et Parasitaire, Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar, BP 5005 Dakar, Senegal.
authors.forename: Ousmane
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Faye
authors.affiliation: Faculté de Médecine, Aix Marseille Université, Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses Tropicales et Emergentes, UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, INSERM 1095, 13385 Marseille Cedex 5, France;
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raoult
authors.affiliation: Faculté de Médecine, Aix Marseille Université, Unité de Recherche sur les Maladies Infectieuses Tropicales et Emergentes, UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, INSERM 1095, 13385 Marseille Cedex 5, France; philippe.parola@univ-amu.fr.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Parola
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000382:microbiology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D012282:Rickettsia Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission*; D041161:Rickettsia felis / Q000472:pathogenicity*
keywords: Anopheles gambiae; Rickettsia felis; spotted fever