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. 2013 Dec;79(23):7439-44.
doi: 10.1128/AEM.02598-13. Epub 2013 Sep 20.

Assessment of persistence of Bartonella henselae in Ctenocephalides felis

Emilie Bouhsira  1 , Michel Franc, Henri-Jean Boulouis, Philippe Jacquiet, Isabelle Raymond-Letron, Emmanuel Liénard
Affiliations

Assessment of persistence of Bartonella henselae in Ctenocephalides felis

Emilie Bouhsira et al. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2013 Dec.

Abstract

Bartonella henselae (Rhizobiales: Bartonellaceae) is a Gram-negative fastidious bacterium of veterinary and zoonotic importance. The cat flea Ctenocephalides felis (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) is the main recognized vector of B. henselae, and transmission among cats and humans occurs mainly through infected flea feces. The present study documents the use of a quantitative molecular approach to follow the daily kinetics of B. henselae within the cat flea and its excreted feces after exposure to infected blood for 48 h in an artificial membrane system. B. henselae DNA was detected in both fleas and feces for the entire life span of the fleas (i.e., 12 days) starting from 24 h after initiation of the blood meal.

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Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1
Dynamics of B. henselae in fleas (A) and excreted feces (B). Fleas were fed blood infected with B. henselae from day 0 to day 2 and with uninfected blood from day 2 onwards.
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