Rickettsia felis
| Rickettsia felis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification
| |
| Domain: | Bacteria |
| Phylum: | Pseudomonadota |
| Class: | Alphaproteobacteria |
| Order: | Rickettsiales |
| Family: | Rickettsiaceae |
| Genus: | Rickettsia |
| Species group: | Spotted fever group |
| Species: | R. felis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Rickettsia felis | |
Rickettsia felisis a species ofbacterium,thepathogenthat causescat-flea typhusin humans, also known asflea-borne spotted fever.[3]Rickettsiafelisalso is regarded as the causative organism of many cases of illnesses generally classed as fevers of unknown origin in humans in Africa.
Transmission and concerns
[edit]Until recently, fleas have been the recognisedvectorsofRickettsia felisand it is present in cat flea populations of North and South America, Southern Europe, Africa, Thailand and Australia. Human infection usually results from flea feces coming into contact with scratched or broken skin.[4]
More recently, some authorities have published increasing concerns about the role of more and more species ofarthropodvectors of this organism;Rickettsia felishas by now been detected in many arthropods in the wild, including various species ofmites,ticks,blood-sucking bugs in the genusCimex,sucking lice,flea species of various types, both free-living and "sticktight fleas",and various other biting insects.[5]In particular there is concern about the prevalence ofRickettsia felisin regions such as parts of sub-Saharan Africa, in mosquito genera such asAnopheles,Aedes,Mansonia,andCulex;all of these genera include species that are challenging to control and have long been recognised as effective vectors of various important human and animal diseases.[5]
The mosquito speciesAnopheles gambiae,which is notorious mainly as a malaria vector, has been demonstrated to be a competent vector forRickettsia felis.More unexpectedly, cells of some important disease vector species of mosquitoes in the genusAedes,which is most commonly seen as a vector forarboviruses,support growth ofRickettsia felis.[6]In addition, in tropical regions whereAedes albopictusandAedes aegyptiare established disease vectors and ectoparasites of humans, patients have tested positive forRickettsia felis.To some authorities this suggests thatAedesspecies might be able to infect their hosts withRickettsia felis,and that patients in, or returning from, the tropics with fevers of unknown origin, should be tested forRickettsia felisinfection. They see as very real, the possibility thatRickettsia felismight be the next mosquito-borne pathogen to emerge as a multi-continental disease outbreak.[6]
Australia
[edit]Human cases ofRickettsia feliswere diagnosed in Australia in 2009, these were the first reported human infections in Australia.[7]The infected individuals were family members who had been exposed to flea bites from infested kittens. In this cluster an otherwise healthy nine-year-old girl was admitted to hospital with fever and a rash. This later worsened three days later when her lungs filled with fluid and she was admitted to intensive care.[8]
References
[edit]- ^Bouyer DH, Stenos J, Crocquet-Valdes P, et al. (March 2001)."Rickettsia felis:molecular characterization of a new member of the spotted fever group ".Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol.51(Pt 2): 339–47.doi:10.1099/00207713-51-2-339.PMID11321078.
- ^La Scola B, Meconi S, Fenollar F, Rolain JM, Roux V, Raoult D (November 2002)."Emended description ofRickettsia felis(Bouyer et al. 2001), a temperature-dependent cultured bacterium ".Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol.52(Pt 6): 2035–41.doi:10.1099/00207713-52-6-2035.PMID12508865.
- ^Raoult, Didier; Parola, Philippe (2007).Rickettsial diseases.CRC Press. pp. 87–.ISBN978-0-8493-7611-5.Retrieved23 May2010.
- ^Azad AF, Beard CB (1998)."Rickettsial pathogens and their arthropod vectors".Emerging Infect. Dis.4(2): 179–86.doi:10.3201/eid0402.980205.PMC2640117.PMID9621188.
- ^abBrown, Lisa D. Macaluso, Kevin R. Rickettsia felis, an Emerging Flea-Borne Rickettsiosis. Curr Trop Med Rep (2016) 3: 27. doi:10.1007/s40475-016-0070-6
- ^abParola, Philippe. Musso, Didier. Raoult, Didier. Rickettsia felis: the next mosquito-borne outbreak? The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Volume 16, Issue 10, 1112 - 1113
- ^Williams M, Izzard L, Graves SR, Stenos J, Kelly JJ (January 2011)."First probable Australian cases of human infection withRickettsia felis(cat-flea typhus) ".Med. J. Aust.194(1): 41–3.doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2011.tb04145.x.PMID21449868.S2CID22677434.
- ^Medew J (6 January 2011)."Deadly cat-flea disease hits Australia".The Age.
External links
[edit]- "Rickettsia felis".NCBI Taxonomy Browser.42862.