Molecular and serological evidence of flea-associated typhus group and spotted fever group rickettsial infections in Madagascar

Rado J L Rakotonanahary; Thomas Alan Harrison; Alice N Maina; Ju Jiang; Allen L Richards; Minoarisoa Rajerison; Sandra Telfer

doi:10.1186/s13071-017-2061-4

Molecular and serological evidence of flea-associated typhus group and spotted fever group rickettsial infections in Madagascar

Rado J L Rakotonanahary (Corresponding Author), Thomas Alan Harrison, Alice N Maina, Ju Jiang, Allen L Richards, Minoarisoa Rajerison, Sandra Telfer

Aberdeen Centre For Environmental Sustainability

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Rickettsiae are obligate intracellular bacteria responsible for many febrile syndromes around the world, including in sub-Saharan Africa. Vectors of these pathogens include ticks, lice, mites and fleas. In order to assess exposure to flea-associated Rickettsia species in Madagascar, human and small mammal samples from an urban and a rural area, and their associated fleas were tested.

RESULTS: Anti-typhus group (TGR)- and anti-spotted fever group rickettsiae (SFGR)-specific IgG were detected in 24 (39%) and 21 (34%) of 62 human serum samples, respectively, using indirect ELISAs, with six individuals seropositive for both. Only two (2%) Rattus rattus out of 86 small mammals presented antibodies against TGR. Out of 117 fleas collected from small mammals, Rickettsia typhi, a TGR, was detected in 26 Xenopsylla cheopis (24%) collected from rodents of an urban area (n = 107), while two of these urban X. cheopis (2%) were positive for Rickettsia felis, a SFGR. R. felis DNA was also detected in eight (31%) out of 26 Pulex irritans fleas.

CONCLUSIONS: The general population in Madagascar are exposed to rickettsiae, and two flea-associated Rickettsia pathogens, R. typhi and R. felis, are present near or in homes. Although our results are from a single district, they demonstrate that rickettsiae should be considered as potential agents of undifferentiated fever in Madagascar.

Original language	English
Article number	125
Journal	Parasites & Vectors
Volume	10
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-017-2061-4
Publication status	Published - 4 Mar 2017

Bibliographical note

This research was supported by the Wellcome Trust (RCDF and Senior Fellowship to ST, #081705 and #095171), the Institut Pasteur de Madagascar, and the Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System, a Division of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center [847705.82000.25GB.A0074].

Keywords

Rickettsia
Rickettsioses
fleas
prevalence
Madagascar
murine typhus
flea-borne spotted fever

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10.1186/s13071-017-2061-4Licence: CC BY

Molecular and serological evidence of flea-associated typhus group and spotted fever group rickettsial infections in Madagascar
© The Author(s). 2017 Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
Final published version, 822 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

@article{e05f314fa4ef4a6c92756844f9adb1a2,

title = "Molecular and serological evidence of flea-associated typhus group and spotted fever group rickettsial infections in Madagascar",

abstract = "BACKGROUND: Rickettsiae are obligate intracellular bacteria responsible for many febrile syndromes around the world, including in sub-Saharan Africa. Vectors of these pathogens include ticks, lice, mites and fleas. In order to assess exposure to flea-associated Rickettsia species in Madagascar, human and small mammal samples from an urban and a rural area, and their associated fleas were tested.RESULTS: Anti-typhus group (TGR)- and anti-spotted fever group rickettsiae (SFGR)-specific IgG were detected in 24 (39%) and 21 (34%) of 62 human serum samples, respectively, using indirect ELISAs, with six individuals seropositive for both. Only two (2%) Rattus rattus out of 86 small mammals presented antibodies against TGR. Out of 117 fleas collected from small mammals, Rickettsia typhi, a TGR, was detected in 26 Xenopsylla cheopis (24%) collected from rodents of an urban area (n = 107), while two of these urban X. cheopis (2%) were positive for Rickettsia felis, a SFGR. R. felis DNA was also detected in eight (31%) out of 26 Pulex irritans fleas.CONCLUSIONS: The general population in Madagascar are exposed to rickettsiae, and two flea-associated Rickettsia pathogens, R. typhi and R. felis, are present near or in homes. Although our results are from a single district, they demonstrate that rickettsiae should be considered as potential agents of undifferentiated fever in Madagascar.",

keywords = "Rickettsia , Rickettsioses , fleas, prevalence, Madagascar, murine typhus, flea-borne spotted fever",

author = "Rakotonanahary, {Rado J L} and Harrison, {Thomas Alan} and Maina, {Alice N} and Ju Jiang and Richards, {Allen L} and Minoarisoa Rajerison and Sandra Telfer",

note = "This research was supported by the Wellcome Trust (RCDF and Senior Fellowship to ST, #081705 and #095171), the Institut Pasteur de Madagascar, and the Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System, a Division of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center [847705.82000.25GB.A0074]. ",

year = "2017",

month = mar,

day = "4",

doi = "10.1186/s13071-017-2061-4",

language = "English",

volume = "10",

journal = "Parasites & Vectors",

issn = "1756-3305",

publisher = "BioMed Central",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Molecular and serological evidence of flea-associated typhus group and spotted fever group rickettsial infections in Madagascar

AU - Rakotonanahary, Rado J L

AU - Harrison, Thomas Alan

AU - Maina, Alice N

AU - Jiang, Ju

AU - Richards, Allen L

AU - Rajerison, Minoarisoa

AU - Telfer, Sandra

N1 - This research was supported by the Wellcome Trust (RCDF and Senior Fellowship to ST, #081705 and #095171), the Institut Pasteur de Madagascar, and the Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System, a Division of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center [847705.82000.25GB.A0074].

PY - 2017/3/4

Y1 - 2017/3/4

N2 - BACKGROUND: Rickettsiae are obligate intracellular bacteria responsible for many febrile syndromes around the world, including in sub-Saharan Africa. Vectors of these pathogens include ticks, lice, mites and fleas. In order to assess exposure to flea-associated Rickettsia species in Madagascar, human and small mammal samples from an urban and a rural area, and their associated fleas were tested.RESULTS: Anti-typhus group (TGR)- and anti-spotted fever group rickettsiae (SFGR)-specific IgG were detected in 24 (39%) and 21 (34%) of 62 human serum samples, respectively, using indirect ELISAs, with six individuals seropositive for both. Only two (2%) Rattus rattus out of 86 small mammals presented antibodies against TGR. Out of 117 fleas collected from small mammals, Rickettsia typhi, a TGR, was detected in 26 Xenopsylla cheopis (24%) collected from rodents of an urban area (n = 107), while two of these urban X. cheopis (2%) were positive for Rickettsia felis, a SFGR. R. felis DNA was also detected in eight (31%) out of 26 Pulex irritans fleas.CONCLUSIONS: The general population in Madagascar are exposed to rickettsiae, and two flea-associated Rickettsia pathogens, R. typhi and R. felis, are present near or in homes. Although our results are from a single district, they demonstrate that rickettsiae should be considered as potential agents of undifferentiated fever in Madagascar.

AB - BACKGROUND: Rickettsiae are obligate intracellular bacteria responsible for many febrile syndromes around the world, including in sub-Saharan Africa. Vectors of these pathogens include ticks, lice, mites and fleas. In order to assess exposure to flea-associated Rickettsia species in Madagascar, human and small mammal samples from an urban and a rural area, and their associated fleas were tested.RESULTS: Anti-typhus group (TGR)- and anti-spotted fever group rickettsiae (SFGR)-specific IgG were detected in 24 (39%) and 21 (34%) of 62 human serum samples, respectively, using indirect ELISAs, with six individuals seropositive for both. Only two (2%) Rattus rattus out of 86 small mammals presented antibodies against TGR. Out of 117 fleas collected from small mammals, Rickettsia typhi, a TGR, was detected in 26 Xenopsylla cheopis (24%) collected from rodents of an urban area (n = 107), while two of these urban X. cheopis (2%) were positive for Rickettsia felis, a SFGR. R. felis DNA was also detected in eight (31%) out of 26 Pulex irritans fleas.CONCLUSIONS: The general population in Madagascar are exposed to rickettsiae, and two flea-associated Rickettsia pathogens, R. typhi and R. felis, are present near or in homes. Although our results are from a single district, they demonstrate that rickettsiae should be considered as potential agents of undifferentiated fever in Madagascar.

KW - Rickettsia

KW - Rickettsioses

KW - fleas

KW - prevalence

KW - Madagascar

KW - murine typhus

KW - flea-borne spotted fever

U2 - 10.1186/s13071-017-2061-4

DO - 10.1186/s13071-017-2061-4

M3 - Article

C2 - 28259176

SN - 1756-3305

VL - 10

JO - Parasites & Vectors

JF - Parasites & Vectors

M1 - 125

ER -

Molecular and serological evidence of flea-associated typhus group and spotted fever group rickettsial infections in Madagascar

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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