Volume 12, Number 5—May 2006
Dispatch
Rickettsia felis in Fleas, Western Australia
Drew Schloderer*, Helen Owen*
, Phillip Clark*, John Stenos†, and Stanley G. Fenwick*
, Phillip Clark*, John Stenos†, and Stanley G. Fenwick*Table
Flea species positive for rickettsiae from dogs and cats in Western Australia*
| Location | Animal | No. animals | No. flea pools | Flea species | No. gltA+ompA+ (%) | Genes sequenced† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broome | Dog | 4 | 4 | Echidnophaga gallinacea | 2 (50) | ns |
| Geraldton | Cat | 17 | 14 | Ctenocephalides felis | 6 (43) | ns |
| 3 | E. gallinacea | 1 (33) | ns | |||
| Dog‡ | 38 | 30 | C. felis | 14 (46) | ns | |
| 10 | E. gallinacea | 2 (20) | ns | |||
| Pinjarra | Cat | 1 | 1 | C. felis | 0 (0) | |
| Dog | 7 | 7 | C. felis | 3 (43) | gltA | |
| Manjimup | Cat | 4 | 4 | C. felis | 1 (25) | ns |
| Dog | 6 | 6 | C. felis | 3 (50) | gltA | |
| Bunbury | Cat | 5 | 5 | C. felis | 2 (40) | ns |
| Dog | 6 | 6 | C. felis | 3 (50) | gltA | |
| Busselton | Cat | 10 | 8 | C. felis | 3 (38) | ns |
| 2 | Spilopsyllus cuniculi | 0 | ||||
| Dog§ | 33 | 28 | C. felis | 6 (21) | gltA, ompA | |
| 7 | C. canis | 0 | ||||
| 1 | E. gallinacea | 0 | ||||
| Augusta | Cat | 1 | 1 | C. felis | 0 | |
| Dog | 2 | 2 | C. felis | 1 (50) | gltA | |
| Albany | Dog | 10 | 10 | C. felis | 5 (50) | gltA |
| Esperance | Cat | 5 | 5 | C. felis | 3 (60) | ns |
| Dog¶ | 10 | 10 | C. felis | 3 (30) | ns | |
| 1 | E. gallinacea | 0 |
*Fleas were collected from 116 dogs and 43 cats. 6 animals were co-infected with 2 different species of fleas as indicated.
†ns, no sequencing performed on this sample; gltA–gltA segment sequenced; ompA–ompA gene segment sequenced.
‡Two dogs had C. felis and E. gallinacea.
§One dog had C. felis and E. gallinacea, 2 dogs had C. felis and C. canis.
¶One dog had C. felis and E. galli
