Abstract
Murine (endemic) typhus is a flea-borne infectious disease caused by Rickettsia typhi. The disease transmission cycle has similarities to that of Yersinia pestis causing plague. It is hypothesized that murine typhus is prevalent in areas with plague transmission. This study aims at detection of R. typhi in rodent fleas by conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A cross sectional study was carried out in Mbulu district in villages with, and without previous history of plague from November 2018 to February 2019. Sherman® traps were set in forest and agricultural habitats while box traps were set inside houses. Captured rodents were anaesthetized using halothane and fleas were removed from the fur using a hard brush and preserved in 70% ethanol. PCR amplification of the targeted citrate synthase (gltA) gene of R. typhi was done using primers RpCS.877p and RpCS.1258n. 12 (24%) of the DNA from rodent fleas was positive for R. typhi. Of these, 5 (10%) and 2 (4%) were from farms and forests with previous plague history respectively, while 3 (6%) and 2 (4%) were from houses and farms with no previous plague history, respectively. This suggests the prevalence of murine typhus is independent of plague infections. Key words: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR), plague, prevalence, Rickettsia typhi, rodents.
Highlights
Rickettsial diseases are worldwide emerging arthropod borne zoonoses that are caused by an obligate intracellular Gram-negative bacterium often found in vector fleas (Abdad et al, 2019; Noh et al, 2017)
Amplification of the gene encoding for Rickettsia was done in six fleas from plague affected and nonplague affected villages of Mbulu district followed by agarose gel electrophoresis
The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of R. typhi in rodent fleas from areas with and without previous history of plague in Mbulu district, Tanzania
Summary
Rickettsial diseases are worldwide emerging arthropod borne zoonoses that are caused by an obligate intracellular Gram-negative bacterium often found in vector fleas (Abdad et al, 2019; Noh et al, 2017). Called endemic typhus or fleaborne typhus is caused by Rickettsia typhi (Civen and Ngo, 2008). The disease is transmitted by fleas (Xenopsylla cheopis) found on rodents (Eremeeva et al, 2008). People get murine typhus when rodent flea faeces containing the rickettsial agents contaminate the bite sites or other skin openings during feeding (La Scola et al, 2000). The conjunctiva can be the port of entry for R. typhi (Noden et al, 2017).
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