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At least 1,495 records · Page 83Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

A contribution to the parasite fauna in winter nests of the common mole (Talpa europaea L.) and incidence of its infection with tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBE) and rickettsia Coxiella burnetii.

A total of 45 winter nests of the common mole (Talpa europaea L.) from the Záhorska lowland (western Slovakia) were investigated in January through March during the years 1981-1985. Seven species of fleas with the eudominant species Ctenophthalmus assimilis were found in them, the other species were subrecedent. The acarinium of the mole winter nests was composed of 19 mite species. Predominant were euryphagous species Haemogamasus nidi, H. hirsutus, Eulaelaps stabularis and Androlaelaps fahrenholzi. TBE virus was detected in samples prepared from suspensions of the mites H. nidi, H. hirsutus, Hirstionyssus talpae and A. fahrenholzi and the fleas Ct. assimilis collected in three localities: Laksárska Nová Ves, Stupava, Pernek. C. burnetii was found neither in mites nor in fleas.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Study of Siphonaptera in Somalia].

In the period 1982-1984 samples of fleas were collected from wild animals of the Middle Scebeli, Low Scebeli and Bay Regions of Somalia. In total 1,335 specimens (486 males and 849 females) were obtained from 17 species of mammalian hosts out of the 19 examined. The following species of fleas were identified: Echidnophaga gallinacea, E. larina, E. murina, Ctenocephalides felis strongylus, Synosternus burtoni, S. somalicus, S. burtoni, S. somalicus, C. felis strongylus and E. larina are known to be widespread in Somalia; on the contrary, the presence of E. gallinacea in this country has not been reported in the literature, though the flea collection of the Institute of Parasitology of the University of Rome owns five females of this species which were collected by Zavattari in South Somalia during the year 1933. Moreover, as far as it is known, E. murina has not been reported in Somalia until now. The spermatheca of the females identified as S. burtoni is described in detail as it shows characteristics which have not been apparently reported before.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Parasites of domestic and wild animals in South Africa. XIV. The seasonal prevalence of Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Ctenocephalides spp. on kennelled dogs in Pretoria North.

The seasonal prevalence of Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Ctenocephalides spp. on kennelled dogs in Pretoria North was determined by the regular examination of 3, initially, and later 2 dogs from March 1975--January 1977. Once the ticks had become established in the kennel peak burdens of immature ticks (larvae plus nymphae) were present on the dogs during early summer 1975 and from midsummer--late summer 1976 and early midsummer 1976/77. Peak numbers of adult ticks were present in midsummer 1975/76, from late summer--autumn and during early spring 1976 and during midsummer 1976/77. Few adults and even fewer immature ticks were present on the dogs during winter 1976 and the infestation overwintered in the pens as engorged nymphae. The flea population took 10 months to become well established. Thereafter, the periods late summer--autumn 1976 and early midsummer 1976/77 (when the survey stopped) were the most favourable and winter--spring 1976 and least favourable for adult fleas. The immature ticks preferred the sides and bellies, adult ticks the necks, and fleas the bellies of the dogs.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Parasitic arthropods of white-footed mice at McClintic Wildlife Station, West Virginia.

Seven species of parasitic arthropods (one sucking louse, one bot, 2 fleas, one tick, and 2 mites) were recovered from 81 white-footed mice, Peromyscus leucopus, live-trapped on the grounds of the McClintic Wildlife Station, Mason County, WV, from March through November 1990. The most commonly collected arthropods were the fleas Orchopeas leucopus (89 specimens) and Epitedia wenmanni (23), and the tick Dermacentor variabilis (38). Sex ratios for both flea species were female biased; 1.8:1.0 for O. leucopus and 1.6:1.0 for E. wenmanni.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Comparison of intradermal allergy test and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in dogs with allergic skin disease.

Results of an ELISA for allergen-specific IgE were compared with results of an intradermal (ID) allergy test in 5 clinically normal dogs and 36 dogs referred for evaluation of allergic dermatitis. The ELISA had a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 0%. Agreement between ID allergy test and ELISA for positive and negative results ranged from 44 to 56% for pollens, 39% for house dust/dust mite, 22% for fungi, and 54% for fleas. Agreement between ID allergy test and ELISA scores for all pollens was only 10% greater than that expected by chance alone, and a kappa value of 0.17 confirmed poor test agreement. The greatest disparity in results was seen in dogs with negative ID and positive ELISA results. Median ELISA absorbance values for 15 groups of related allergens were compared in 4 groups of dogs: clinically normal dogs, atopic dogs with positive ID reactivity, suspected atopic dogs with negative ID reactivity, and flea-allergic dogs. There was no significant difference in median ELISA values between clinically normal dogs and flea-allergic dogs, or clinically normal dogs and atopic dogs for any allergen group. Although the ELISA absorbance value for fungal antigens was significantly higher in dogs suspected of being atopic than in clinically normal dogs, there was no significant difference in median ELISA values for any other allergen group. These findings suggested the disparity between ID allergy test and ELISA results was primarily attributable to false-positive ELISA reactions rather than greater ELISA sensitivity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Severe cardiomegaly secondary to anemia in a kitten.

Severe anemia in a weanling kitten resulted in volume overload hypertrophy of the heart and signs of congestive heart failure. A 6-week-old moribund kitten was admitted to the hospital with a PCV of 3%. The anemia was determined to have resulted from severe flea infestation and iron deficiency. Supportive therapy consisted of flea removal, blood transfusions, and oral nutritional support. On day 3 of hospitalization, the kitten had signs of depression and became tachypneic. Auscultation revealed a systolic murmur, gallop rhythm, and crackles over the ventral lung fields. Thoracic radiography revealed pulmonary edema and massive cardiomegaly. Echocardiographic evaluation revealed dilatation of all cardiac chambers. The addition of furosemide to the kitten's treatment protocol resulted in resolution of the pulmonary edema. On follow-up examination 1 month later, the kitten had mild residual cardiomegaly and the anemia had resolved. Anemia is a well-known sequela to severe flea infestation in young animals. A less commonly reported, but potentially life-threatening, sequela to anemia may include the development of volume overload hypertrophy of the heart and congestive heart failure.

Anemia, Hypochromic↗
PubMed1996

Intradermal reactivity to various insect and arachnid allergens among dogs from the southeastern United States.

OBJECTIVE: To compare cutaneous reactivity to insect and arachnid allergens in clinically normal (control) and allergic dogs in the southeastern United States. DESIGN: Prospective, controlled study. ANIMALS: 26 clinically normal dogs and 82 allergic dogs from the southeastern United States. PROCEDURE: Intradermal skin testing with various dilutions of 13 insect and arachnid allergens was performed on control dogs to establish skin threshold concentrations (ie, concentrations to which < 25% of the dogs had positive reactions). These established threshold concentrations were then used to test allergic dogs for reactivity. Prevalence of single and multiple insect and arachnid reactions were determined. RESULTS: Flea allergen was the only allergen that caused a significantly higher prevalence of positive reactions in allergic dogs than in control dogs. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Flea hypersensitivity is the most important arthropod hypersensitivity in dogs. The importance of reactivity to insect and arachnid allergens other than flea allergen can be determined only when prevalence of positive reactivity has been determined in an appropriate regional control group of dogs.

Allergens↗
PubMed1991

Epidemiology of rickettsial diseases.

Rickettsial diseases have a diversity of epidemiologic characteristics reflective of the variety of ecologic situations in which the obligate intracellular bacteria are transmitted to humans. For the spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae, Rickettsia typhi, R. tsutsugamushi, Coxiella burnetii, and the human ehrlichial agent, humans are a dead-end host who plays no role in the maintenance of the organism in nature. All rickettsioses exist as zoonoses. Moreover, all rickettsiae are found in infected arthopods, which generally serve as the natural hosts and can transmit the infection to the next generation of ticks, mites, chiggers, or fleas. From our anthropocentric viewpoint, Q fever aerosol infection from parturient animals and Brill-Zinsser disease ignited epidemics of louse-borne epidemic typhus are exceptions. However, silent cycles of C. burnetii in ticks and R. prowazekii in the flying squirrel flea may have maintained these agents in transovarial or enzootic cycles for eons before humans and their domestic animals arrived on the scene. Thus, the epidemiology of rickettsial diseases must be recognized as an unfortunate aberration of the rickettsial economy. Several excellent reviews of rickettsial ecology contain a wealth of useful information.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Transmission cycle of murine typhus in Greece.

A field study, based on a follow up of the 49 human cases of the disease that occurred on the island of Evia in 1985, has established the transmission cycle of murine typhus in Greece for the first time. In 1993, two types of traps were used to catch 53 rats, all of them Rattus norvegicus, in the localities where the cases had occurred. Some 300 fleas, all of them probably Xenopsylla cheopis, and a few ticks and mites were collected from the rats. Eight of the fleas were found positive for Rickettsia typhi by PCR and anti-R. typhi antibodies were found in the sera of 48 (91%) of the rats at titres between 1:8 and 1:524,288 and in 22 (42%) at titres > 1:256. The commensal rat population in the general area of study was both ubiquitous and abundant. Murine typhus is obviously endemic in the area and probably of much greater public health significance than the number of reported cases indicates.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Rickettsia felis in Xenopsylla cheopis, Java, Indonesia.

Rickettsia typhi and R. felis, etiologic agents of murine typhus and fleaborne spotted fever, respectively, were detected in Oriental rat fleas (Xenopsylla cheopis) collected from rodents and shrews in Java, Indonesia. We describe the first evidence of R. felis in Indonesia and naturally occurring R. felis in Oriental rat fleas.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Murine typhus among Khmers living at an evacuation site on the Thai-Kampuchean border.

An outbreak of febrile disease involving 170 Khmer adults at an evacuation site in Thailand occurred during the dry season of 1986, only 8 months after the camp was constructed. The illnesses were characterized by persistent fever, retro-orbital headache, myalgias, and clinical response to tetracycline within 2-3 days. The symptoms, effectiveness of tetracycline, and presence of a large rat population raised the suspicion of murine typhus. Fourteen (74%) of 19 patients had elevated or rising antibody titers against Rickettsia typhi, confirming the clinical diagnosis. Rats were caught, and they and their fleas were identified. In agreement with the known Thai host and vector, 80 (93%) of 86 rats were Rattus exulans, and all of 32 fleas were Xenopsylla cheopis. This first reported outbreak of murine typhus in Thailand is notable for its occurrence in a new human settlement only 8 months after construction.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

A suburban focus of endemic typhus in Los Angeles County: association with seropositive domestic cats and opossums.

Thirty-three cases of locally acquired murine typhus were reported in Los Angeles County residents from May 1984 through February 1988. Only eight cases were reported over the previous 20-year period. Thirty (91%) cases resided within a suburban area encompassing approximately 50 km2 in northcentral Los Angeles or had contact with an animal from this area. Serologic testing (complement fixation and indirect fluorescent antibody) of selected animals in close association with human cases revealed a high prevalence of seropositivity among domestic cats and opossums. Nine (90%) of 10 resident cats tested had demonstrable antibody titers compared with none (0%) of 20 cats from a control area (P < 0.001). Suburban typhus cases were more likely than neighborhood controls to own a cat or dog (odds ratio = 6.9, 95% confidence interval = 1.8, 25.9, P = 0.002). Sixteen (42%) of 38 opossums trapped in close proximity to the residences of cases were seropositive versus none (0%) of 36 opossums from control areas (P < 0.001) A low frequency (2.8%) of seropositivity was found in commensal rodents, and the classic vector of murine typhus, Xenopsylla cheopis, was not found. Ectoparasite indices form seropositive opossums revealed heavy infestations with the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis (mean flea count = 104.7), a species that readily bites humans. These data provide evidence that a suburban focus of murine typhus exists in Los Angeles that differs substantially from the classic transmission cycle, and that cats, opossums and C. felis may play an important role in the occurrence of human cases.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Evidence of Rickettsia typhi and the potential for murine typhus in Jayapura, Irian Jaya, Indonesia.

Murine typhus (etiologic agent: Rickettsia typhi) is endemic to Indonesia, especially on the highly populated island of Java. A survey of rodents from Irian Jaya, the eastern-most province of Indonesia, indicated striking geographic variation in risk factors associated with murine typhus. Murid rodents (n = 112) collected from two villages in the Arso district of northeastern Irian Jaya, were found to be free of ectoparasites normally associated with transmission of R. typhi (i.e., Xenopsylla cheopis). All rodents (n = 72) tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were negative for antibodies to R. typhi, whereas 12.5% (9/72) were positive for antibodies to Orienta tsutsugamushi. In contrast, both Rattus norvegicus and R. rattles (combined n = 87) from the harbor area of the provincial capital, Jayapura, were infested with flea ectoparasites. X. cheopis was found on 31 (35.6%) of the live-captured rodents. Serum samples from nine of 82 rodents contained antibodies reactive to R. typhi (11.0%). These data show for the first time that rodents exposed to R. typhi are well established in Jayapura, and that some of these rodents harbor fleas potentially capable of transmitting murine typhus and plague.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Ownership of cats or dogs does not increase exposure to Rickettsia typhi.

In the United States, murine typhus (Rickettsia typhi) is endemic in southern California and South Texas. Evidence indicates the natural host/vector system is the opossum and cat flea, the most common flea on both cats and dogs, and speculation suggests that pet contact may pose a risk for R typhi exposure. Serum from 140 subjects was tested for rickettsial antibodies by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay that used an R typhi antigen. Each subject was asked about pet contact status and placed in one of the following groups: owners, non-owners but with regular contact (more than 3 times per week), non-owners with irregular contact (fewer than 3 times per week), or non-owners with no contact. Overall, 15.7% of sera were positive for antirickettsia IgG. Of owners or those with regular contact, 14 of 96 (14.6%) were seropositive, while 8 of 44 (18.2%) of non-owners or those with irregular contact were seropositive. A chi-square test showed no significant difference among these groups (P > .5). We conclude that pet ownership or regular contact with pets is not a risk factor for exposure to Rickettsia typhi.

Animals↗
PubMed1957

Eradication of murine typhus fever in a rural area: preliminary report.

An attempt to eradicate murine typhus fever by control of rats and rat-fleas in rural foci was carried out in Georgia between July 1953 and May 1954. Anticoagulant rat poisons and DDT powder were the principal agents used. Rats were eliminated from 89% of rat-infested premises and satisfactory flea reduction was achieved.Although premises cleared of rats have become reinfested at a rate of 25% 10-18 months after clearance, typhus fever has apparently been eliminated. On the results reported, the authors believe that eradication of murine typhus fever from rural areas is economically and practically feasible, and that plague in commensal rats may also be eliminated by measures similar to those adopted in this experiment.

Animals↗
PubMed1960

A confirmed case of DDT-resistance in Xenopsylla cheopis in India.

The authors describe a technique, developed in their laboratory at Poona, Bombay State, for estimating the susceptibility of the oriental rat-flea, Xenopsylla cheopis, to insecticides. Using this technique, they compared the susceptibility to DDT, gamma-BHC and dieldrin of a field population of X. cheopis from a locality in Poona District which had been sprayed with DDT 28 times, with that of a similar population from a locality in North Satara District which had been sprayed only three times. The Poona strain proved to be highly resistant to DDT and moderately resistant to BHC, which has never been used in Poona District, but remained susceptible to dieldrin, although slightly less so than the Satara strain. The authors consider this a clear-cut case of the development of physiological resistance as a result of continued DDT spraying, and suggest that the rat-fleas in any area where DDT has been used on a large scale for disease control should be tested regularly for susceptibility so that, in the event of an outbreak of plague, the insecticide most likely to destroy the vector could be applied from the outset.

Animals↗
PubMed1950

Newer insecticides and scabicides.

Experimental and clinical data show that taking thiamine chloride internally protects against flea bites. Application of DDT powder to the breeding places of fleas controls infestation. Clinical data appear to show that the use of an ointment containing gamma isomer hexachlorocyclohexane is an effective and pleasant means of treating scabies.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Murine and epidemic typhus rickettsiae: how close is their relationship?

Typhus fever has occurred globally as epidemic and endemic disorders. In 1910, Brill reported a typhus-like illness which Zinsser and others determined to be recurrent epidemic typhus fever. Maxcy, in 1926, proposed rodents and fleas as reservoir and vector, respectively, of endemic typhus, which Dyer confirmed in 1930. Animals experimentally infected with epidemic typhus (Rickettsia prowazeki) are immune to murine typhus (Rickettsia typhi) and vice versa. Similar solid cross-immunity exists for humans. The two diseases are clinically similar in pathologic and serologic reactions. Human epidemic typhus presumably involved a man-louse-man cycle without an animal reservoir. This concept is now questioned. Antibodies to R. prowazeki have been reported in livestock in Africa, rats in Manila, and from flying squirrels and humans in the United States. R. prowazeki was recovered from blood specimens of goats, sheep, from ixodid ticks, louse, and flea-ectoparasites of flying squirrels, and tissues of flying squirrels. More than 20 cases of squirrel-related acute epidemic typhus have been reported in the United States. R. prowazeki has not been recovered from human cases. Chemical studies of R. prowazeki and R. typhi show genetic similarities but differences in genome size and degree of hybridization suggest that interconversions between the two agents do not occur rapidly in nature. It is proposed that, with time, their relatedness will become even closer.

Animals↗