ArticleParasites & vectors2021
Poor vector competence of the human flea, Pulex irritans, to transmit Yersinia pestis.
Article in Parasites & vectors, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed.
- Flea infestation and molecular detection of Rickettsia and Bartonella spp. in domestic dog-associated fleas from the inter-Andean basin of Cundinamarca, Colombia.Medical and veterinary entomology · 2026Article
- Experimental evidence of early-phase transmission of Yersinia pestis by Synopsyllus fonquerniei and Xenopsylla brasiliensis.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2026Article
- Xenopsylla buxtoni fleas as a dominant species harboring multiple infections of Wolbachia lineages in the ancient plague epicenters of Iran.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2026Article
- Review
- Interaction of Bacteria and Fleas, Focusing on the Plague Bacterium-A Review.Microorganisms · 2025Review
- Establishing a laboratory colony of the human flea, Pulex irritans: methods for collecting, rearing, and feeding.Parasites & vectors · 2025Article
- Brazilian fleas (Hexapoda: Siphonaptera): diversity, host associations, and new records on small mammals from the Atlantic Rainforest, including Rickettsia screening.Parasites & vectors · 2025Review
- Madagascar's Plague: One Health Research Aims to Slow Its Spread.Environmental health perspectives · 2024Article
- Yersinia pestis can infect the Pawlowsky glands of human body lice and be transmitted by louse bite.PLoS biology · 2024Article
- Immune Reactions of Vector Insects to Parasites and Pathogens.Microorganisms · 2024Review
- Socio-ecological risk factors associated with human flea infestations of rural household in plague-endemic areas of Madagascar.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2024Article
- Antimicrobial therapies administrated during the Third Plague Pandemic in Europe.Le infezioni in medicina · 2024Article
- Uncovering the Holocene roots of contemporary disease-scapes: bringing archaeology into One Health.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2023Review
- Reply to Alfani: Reconstructing past plague ecology to understand human history.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Article
- Identification of Vietnamese Flea Species and Their Associated Microorganisms Using Morphological, Molecular, and Protein Profiling.Microorganisms · 2023Article
- Assessing the origins of the European Plagues following the Black Death: A synthesis of genomic, historical, and ecological information.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe human flea, Pulex irritans, is widespread globally and has a long association with humans, one of its principal hosts. Its role in plague transmission is still under discussion, although its high prevalence in plague-endemic regions and the presence of infected fleas of this species during plague outbreaks has led to proposals that it has been a significant vector in human-to-human transmission in some historical and present-day epidemiologic situations. However, based on a limited number of studies, P. irritans is considered to be a poor vector and receives very little attention from public health policymakers. In this study we examined the vector competence of P. irritans collected from foxes and owls in the western United States, using a standard protocol and artificial infection system.
methodsWild-caught fleas were maintained in the laboratory and infected by allowing them to feed on human or rat blood containing 2 × 10
resultsP. irritans were susceptible to infection, with more than 30% maintaining high bacterial loads for up to 20 days. Transmission during this time was infrequent and inefficient, however. Consistent with previous studies, a low level of early-phase transmission (3 days after the infectious blood meal) was detected in some trials. Transmission at later time points was also sporadic, and the incidence of proventricular blockage, required for this mode of transmission, was low in fleas infected using rat blood and never occurred in fleas infected using human blood. The highest level of blockage and transmission was seen in fleas infected using rat blood and allowed to feed intermittently rather than daily, indicating that host blood and feeding frequency influence vector competence.
conclusionsOur results affirm the reputation of P. irritans as a feeble vector compared to rodent flea species examined similarly, and its vector competence may be lower when infected by feeding on bacteremic human blood.
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