Abstract
BackgroundFleas are obligate blood-feeding ectoparasites and vectors of several bacterial zoonotic pathogens as well as trypanosomes that parasitize rodents and other small mammals. During investigations of tick- and rodent-borne diseases in Mali, West Africa, we included fleas and rodent-borne trypanosomes, both of which are poorly known in this country, but are attracting greater public health interest.MethodsSmall mammals were captured in 20 Malian villages from December 2007 to October 2011. Fleas were collected and identified to species, and thin blood smears were prepared, stained and examined microscopically for trypanosomes.ResultsWe captured 744 small mammals, 68 (9.1 %) of which yielded fleas. Two species of fleas, Xenopsylla cheopis and Xenopsylla nubica, were collected from six species of rodents and one species of shrew. Multimammate rats, Mastomys natalensis, were hosts for 58.5 % of all fleas collected. Xenopsylla cheopis was found in the moister southern savannah while X. nubica was mostly restricted to the drier Sahel. Trypanosomes were found in 3 % of 724 blood smears, although 91 % of parasitemic animals originated from two villages where black rats (Rattus rattus) and M. natalensis were the primary hosts and X. cheopis the dominant flea. The trypanosomes were morphologically consistent with the Trypanosoma (Herpetosoma) lewisi group, flea-borne hemoflagellates that parasitize domestic rats.Conclusions Xenopsylla cheopis and trypanosomes parasitize peridomestic rats that commingle with people in southern Mali. Given the increasing awareness of flea-borne trypanosomes as possible human pathogens, we hope our findings will stimulate future investigators to examine the potential public health significance of flea-borne trypanosomosis in West Africa.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-016-1818-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Fleas are obligate blood-feeding ectoparasites and vectors of several bacterial zoonotic pathogens as well as trypanosomes that parasitize rodents and other small mammals
176 fleas were collected from 68 animals (9.1 % of captures) in 14 villages (Table 1), which included six species of rodents and one species of shrew (Table 2, Additional file 2: Table S2)
The low Rothschild described and named both X. cheopis and X. nubica, the two species we found, based on specimens collected from rodents captured near Shendi, Sudan, in 1901 [14]
Summary
Fleas are obligate blood-feeding ectoparasites and vectors of several bacterial zoonotic pathogens as well as trypanosomes that parasitize rodents and other small mammals. During investigations of tick- and rodent-borne diseases in Mali, West Africa, we included fleas and rodent-borne trypanosomes, both of which are poorly known in this country, but are attracting greater public health interest. Fleas (Insecta: Siphonaptera) are obligate blood-feeding ectoparasites as adults and serve as vectors of several bacterial zoonotic pathogens, the most devastating being Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague [1]. During a field investigation of tick-borne relapsing fever in Mali [7], we live-trapped small mammals across the southern region of the country, collected fleas, and prepared thin blood smears from the animals. Schwan et al Parasites & Vectors (2016) 9:541 significance parasitized peridomestic rodents in several villages where the presumed flea vector was found
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