Rickettsia felis - a zoonotic agent?


Rickettsia felis has been isolated from opossums and is transmitted by Ctenocephalides felis fleas. This organism has also been isolated from people that were initially diagnosed with murine-origin typhus (infection with R. typhus). Although one survey in the northeastern U.S. found a seropositivity rate of 8% among domestic cats, the role of cats in the epidemiology of this organisms is unclear- stay tuned!

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