Title: Rickettsia felis

{{Short description|Species of bacterium}}
{{Speciesbox
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| genus = Rickettsia
| species = felis
| parent = Spotted fever group
| authority = [[Donald H. Bouyer|Bouyer]] ''et al.'', 2001&lt;ref&gt;{{cite journal  |vauthors=Bouyer DH, Stenos J, Crocquet-Valdes P, etal |title=''Rickettsia felis'': molecular characterization of a new member of the spotted fever group |journal=Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. |volume=51 |issue=Pt 2 |pages=339–47 |date=March 2001 |pmid=11321078 |url=http://ijs.sgmjournals.org/content/51/2/339.short |doi=10.1099/00207713-51-2-339 |doi-access=free }}&lt;/ref&gt; ''[[emend.]]'' [[Bernard La Scola|La Scola]] ''et al.'', 2002&lt;ref&gt;{{cite journal |vauthors=La Scola B, Meconi S, Fenollar F, Rolain JM, Roux V, Raoult D |title=Emended description of ''Rickettsia felis'' (Bouyer et al. 2001), a temperature-dependent cultured bacterium |journal=Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. |volume=52 |issue=Pt 6 |pages=2035–41 |date=November 2002 |pmid=12508865 |url=http://ijs.sgmjournals.org/content/52/6/2035.short |doi=10.1099/00207713-52-6-2035 |doi-access=free }}&lt;/ref&gt;
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'''''Rickettsia felis''''' is a species of [[Bacteria|bacterium]], the [[pathogen]] that causes '''cat-flea typhus''' in humans, also known as [[flea-borne spotted fever]].&lt;ref name=&quot;RaoultParola2007&quot;&gt;{{cite book |first1=Didier |last1=Raoult |first2=Philippe |last2=Parola |title=Rickettsial diseases |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BSGuWFv_qf0C&amp;pg=PA87 |access-date=23 May 2010 |year=2007 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-0-8493-7611-5 |pages=87–}}&lt;/ref&gt; ''[[Rickettsia]] felis'' also is regarded as the causative organism of many cases of illnesses generally classed as fevers of unknown origin in humans in Africa.

==Transmission and concerns==
Fleas are the main [[Vector (epidemiology)|vectors]] of ''Rickettsia felis'' and it is present in [[cat flea]]s worldwide. Human infection usually results from flea feces coming into contact with scratched or broken skin. Human infection is known as ''cat flea rickettsiosis'', ''flea-borne spotted fever'', and ''cat flea typhus''.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite journal |vauthors=Azad AF, Beard CB |title=Rickettsial pathogens and their arthropod vectors |journal=Emerging Infect. Dis. |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=179–86 |year=1998 |pmid=9621188 |pmc=2640117 |doi=10.3201/eid0402.980205 }}&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref name=&quot;durden&quot;&gt;{{cite book | last=Durden | first=Lance A. | last2=Hinkle | first2=Nancy C. | title=Medical and Veterinary Entomology | chapter=Fleas (Siphonaptera) | publisher=Elsevier | date=2019 | isbn=978-0-12-814043-7 | doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-814043-7.00010-8 | page=145–169}}&lt;/ref&gt; An [[eschar]] develops at the site of the flea bite. [[Doxycycline]] is used for treatment of clinical patients.&lt;ref name=&quot;durden&quot;/&gt;

Fleas are believed to be the likely reservoir of ''R. felis''. ''R. felis'' is transmitted [[transovarially]] between fleas.&lt;ref name=&quot;durden&quot;/&gt;

More recently, some authorities have published increasing concerns about the role of more and more species of [[arthropod]] vectors of this organism; ''Rickettsia felis'' has by now been detected in many arthropods in the wild, including various species of [[mite]]s, [[tick]]s, [[Heteroptera|blood-sucking bugs in the genus ''Cimex'']], [[sucking louse|sucking lice]], flea species of various types, both free-living and &quot;[[sticktight flea]]s&quot;, and various other biting insects.&lt;ref name=&quot;BrownMacaluso&quot;&gt;Brown, Lisa D.  Macaluso, Kevin R. Rickettsia felis, an Emerging Flea-Borne Rickettsiosis. Curr Trop Med Rep (2016) 3: 27. doi:10.1007/s40475-016-0070-6&lt;/ref&gt; In particular there is concern about the prevalence of ''Rickettsia felis'' in regions such as parts of sub-Saharan Africa, in mosquito genera such as ''[[Anopheles]]'', ''[[Aedes]]'', ''[[Mansonia (fly)|Mansonia]]'', and ''[[Culex]]''; all of these genera include species that are challenging to control and have long been recognised as effective vectors of various important human and animal diseases.&lt;ref name=&quot;BrownMacaluso&quot;/&gt;

The mosquito species ''[[Anopheles gambiae]]'', which is notorious mainly as a malaria vector, has been demonstrated to be a competent vector for ''Rickettsia felis''. More unexpectedly, cells of some important disease vector species of mosquitoes in the genus ''Aedes'', which is most commonly seen as a vector for [[arbovirus]]es, support growth of ''Rickettsia felis''.&lt;ref name=&quot;ParolaMR&quot;&gt;Parola, Philippe. Musso, Didier. Raoult, Didier. Rickettsia felis: the next mosquito-borne outbreak? The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Volume 16, Issue 10, 1112 - 1113&lt;/ref&gt; In addition, in tropical regions where ''Aedes albopictus'' and ''Aedes aegypti'' are established disease vectors and ectoparasites of humans, patients have tested positive for ''Rickettsia felis''. To some authorities this suggests that ''Aedes'' species might be able to infect their hosts with ''Rickettsia felis'', and that patients in, or returning from, the tropics with fevers of unknown origin, should be tested for ''Rickettsia felis'' infection. They see as very real, the possibility that ''Rickettsia felis'' might be the next mosquito-borne pathogen to emerge as a multi-continental disease outbreak.&lt;ref name=&quot;ParolaMR&quot;/&gt;

==Australia==
Human cases of ''Rickettsia felis'' were diagnosed in Australia in 2009, these were the first reported human infections in Australia.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite journal |vauthors=Williams M, Izzard L, Graves SR, Stenos J, Kelly JJ |title=First probable Australian cases of human infection with ''Rickettsia felis'' (cat-flea typhus) |journal=Med. J. Aust. |volume=194 |issue=1 |pages=41–3 |date=January 2011 |doi=10.5694/j.1326-5377.2011.tb04145.x |pmid=21449868 |s2cid=22677434 |url=http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/194_01_030111/wil10168_fm.html|url-access=subscription }}&lt;/ref&gt;
==Diagnosis==
Diagnosis of ''R. felis'' infection requires specific [[polymerase chain reaction]] (PCR) testing to distinguish serological results from ''R. typhi'' infection.&lt;ref name=&quot;durden&quot;/&gt;
==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{cite web |title=''Rickettsia felis'' |work=NCBI Taxonomy Browser |url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?mode=Info&amp;id=42862 |id=42862}}
{{Gram-negative proteobacterial diseases}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q7331931}}

[[Category:Rickettsiaceae]]
[[Category:Cat diseases]]
[[Category:Bacteria described in 2001]]