The cat flea Ctenocephalides felis is the main vector of Bartonella henselae and Bartonella clarridgeiae, the causative agents of cat-scratch disease (CSD) and the spotted-fever agent Rickettsia felis. In spite of their worldwide distribution, there are no data on the occurrence of CSD-causing Bartonella species or the prevalence of Rickettsia species in the Canary Islands, Spain. Therefore, the aim of our study was to screen cat and dog fleas for both pathogens. A total of 128 C. felis from cats and dogs were screened for Bartonella and Rickettsia by PCR. Bartonella henselae (2.3%) and B. clarridgeiae (3.9%) were found in fleas infesting cats, whereas R. felis was identified in both cat (36.6%) and dog (40.7%) fleas. Further, co-infections were observed. This work constitutes the first finding of CSD-causing Bartonella species and the first study on the prevalence of R. felis in fleas from domestic animals in the Canary Islands. These results indicate public health importance, as associated infections could be misdiagnosed in the Archipelago despite their clinical relevance. Establishing human and animal routine diagnosis procedures for these pathogens along with improving vector control in shelters is necessary in order to prevent the spread of the infections among animals.

中文翻译：

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西班牙加那利群岛特内里费岛猫狗跳蚤中汉氏巴尔通体、克氏巴尔通体和立克次体的分子检测

猫蚤Ctenocephalides felis是汉氏巴尔通体和 Bartonella clarridgeiae 的主要媒介，它们是猫抓病 (CSD) 和斑点热病原体立克次体的病原体。尽管它们在世界范围内分布，但没有关于导致 CSD 的巴尔通体物种的发生或西班牙加那利群岛的立克次体物种流行的数据。因此，我们研究的目的是筛选猫和狗跳蚤的两种病原体。通过 PCR对来自猫和狗的 128只C. felis进行巴尔通体和立克次体筛查。汉氏巴尔通体(2.3%) 和B. clarridgeiae (3.9%) 在感染猫的跳蚤中发现，而在猫 (36.6%) 和狗 (40.7%) 跳蚤中发现R. felis 。此外，观察到合并感染。这项工作是首次发现导致 CSD 的巴尔通体物种，也是对加那利群岛家畜跳蚤中R. felis流行率的首次研究。这些结果表明了公共卫生的重要性，因为相关感染可能在群岛中被误诊，尽管它们具有临床相关性。为了防止感染在动物之间传播，有必要为这些病原体建立人类和动物的常规诊断程序，同时改善收容所的病媒控制。