Presence of Coxiella burnetii in fleas in Cyprus.

Over 40 tick species are naturally infected by Coxiella burnetii. However, little is known about the presence of C. burnetii in other ectoparasites such as fleas. During a 6-year (2000-2006) study, 1147 fleas were collected from 652 animals (252 rats, 118 foxes, and 282 hares) captured from different areas of Cyprus. Three flea species-Xenopsylla cheopis, Ctenocephalides felis, and C. canis-were identified. Fleas were pooled (153 pools) and tested by PCR for the presence of C. burnetii. The pathogen was identified in 25 (16.3%) pools. None of the fleas parasitizing hares was positive for C. burnetii, as opposed to fleas collected from rats (12% pool positivity) and foxes (47.6% pool positivity). The highest prevalence of positive pools was recorded in C. canis (38%) compared to C. felis (16.6%) and X. cheopis (10.8%). All pools of C. canis positive for C. burnetii were removed from foxes (44.4%), whereas all positive X. cheopis (10.8%) were removed from rats. The role of fleas in the maintenance and transmission of C. burnetii among wild vertebrates remains to be determined.