First probable Australian cases of human infection with Rickettsia felis (cat-flea typhus)
Molly Williams MB BS
Advanced Trainee in Paediatric General Medicine
Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC.
Search for more papers by this authorLeonard Izzard BSc, PhD
Postgraduate Student
Australian Rickettsial Reference Laboratory, Geelong Hospital, Geelong, VIC.
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Stephen R Graves MB BS, PhD, FRCPA
Director
Division of Microbiology, Hunter Area Pathology Service, Newcastle, NSW.
Correspondence: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorJohn Stenos BSc, PhD
Supervising Scientist
Australian Rickettsial Reference Laboratory, Geelong Hospital, Geelong, VIC.
Search for more papers by this authorJulian J Kelly MB BS, FRACP
Paediatrician; and Senior Lecturer
Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC.
Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC.
Search for more papers by this authorMolly Williams MB BS
Advanced Trainee in Paediatric General Medicine
Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC.
Search for more papers by this authorLeonard Izzard BSc, PhD
Postgraduate Student
Australian Rickettsial Reference Laboratory, Geelong Hospital, Geelong, VIC.
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Stephen R Graves MB BS, PhD, FRCPA
Director
Division of Microbiology, Hunter Area Pathology Service, Newcastle, NSW.
Correspondence: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorJohn Stenos BSc, PhD
Supervising Scientist
Australian Rickettsial Reference Laboratory, Geelong Hospital, Geelong, VIC.
Search for more papers by this authorJulian J Kelly MB BS, FRACP
Paediatrician; and Senior Lecturer
Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC.
Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC.
Search for more papers by this author
References
- 1Graves S, Stenos J, Unsworth N, Nguyen C. Laboratory diagnosis of rickettsial infection. Aust J Med Sci 2006; 27: 39–44.
- 2Izzard L, Cox E, Stenos J, et al. Serological prevalence study of exposure of cats and dogs in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia to spotted fever group rickettsiae. Aust Vet J 2010; 88: 29–31. 20148824.
- 3Stenos J, Graves SR, Unsworth NB. A highly sensitive and specific real-time PCR assay for the detection of spotted fever and typhus group Rickettsiae. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2005; 73: 1083–1085. 16354816.
- 4Izzard L, Graves S, Cox E, et al. Novel rickettsia in ticks, Tasmania, Australia. Emerg Infect Dis 2009; 15: 1654–1656. 19861066.
- 5Fournier PE, Dumler JS, Greub G, et al. Gene sequence-based criteria for identification of new rickettsia isolates and description of Rickettsia heilongjiangensis sp. nov. J Clin Microbiol 2003; 41: 5456–5465. 14662925.
- 6Schloderer D, Owen H, Clark P, et al. Rickettsia felis in fleas, Western Australia. Emerg Infect Dis 2006; 12: 841–843. 16704850.
- 7Schriefer ME, Sacci JB Jr, Dumler JS, et al. Identification of a novel rickettsial infection in a patient diagnosed with murine typhus. J Clin Microbiol 1994; 32: 949–954. 8027348.
- 8Eremeeva ME, Warashina WR, Sturgeon MM, et al. Rickettsia typhi and R. felis in rat fleas (Xenopsylla cheopis), Oahu, Hawaii. Emerg Infect Dis 2008; 14: 1613–1615. 18826827.
- 9Bitam I, Parola P, De La Cruz KD, et al. First molecular detection of Rickettsia felis in fleas from Algeria. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2006; 74: 532–535. 16606979.
- 10Pereq-Osorio CE, Zavala-Velazquez JE, Leon JJ, Zavala-Castro JE. Rickettsia felis as emergent global threat for humans. Emerg Infect Dis 2008; 14: 1019–1023. 18598619.
- 11Wedincamp J Jr, Foil LD. Infection and seroconversion of cats exposed to cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis Bouché) infected with Rickettsia felis. J Vector Ecol 2000; 25: 123–126. 10925806.