Publications

cytotoxic effector functions of t cells are not required for protective immunity against fatal rickettsia typhi infection in a murine model of infection: role of th1 and th17 cytokines in protection and pathology.	endemic typhus caused by rickettsia (r.) typhi is an emerging febrile disease that can be fatal due to multiple organ pathology. here we analyzed the requirements for protection against r. typhi by t cells in the cb17 scid model of infection. balb/c wild-type mice generate cd4+ th1 and cytotoxic cd8+ t cells both of which are sporadically reactivated in persistent infection. either adoptively transferred cd8+ or cd4+ t cells protected r. typhi-infected cb17 scid mice from death and provided long ...	2017	28222146
molecular and serological evidence of flea-associated typhus group and spotted fever group rickettsial infections in madagascar.	rickettsiae are obligate intracellular bacteria responsible for many febrile syndromes around the world, including in sub-saharan africa. vectors of these pathogens include ticks, lice, mites and fleas. in order to assess exposure to flea-associated rickettsia species in madagascar, human and small mammal samples from an urban and a rural area, and their associated fleas were tested.	2017	28259176
significance of major international seaports in the distribution of murine typhus in taiwan.	international seaports are hotspots for disease invasion and pathogens can persist in seaports even after ports are abandoned. transmitted by fleas infected by rickettsia typhi, murine typhus, a largely neglected and easily misdiagnosed disease, is known to occur primarily in large seaports. however, the significance of seaports in the occurrence of murine typhus has never been validated quantitatively.	2017	28264003
serological evidence of exposure to rickettsia felis and rickettsia typhi in australian veterinarians.	rickettsia felis and rickettsia typhi are emerging arthropod-borne zoonoses causing fever and flu-like symptoms. seroprevalence and risk factors associated with exposure to these organisms was explored in australian veterinarians.	2017	28285586
gfpuv-expressing recombinant rickettsia typhi: a useful tool for the study of pathogenesis and cd8(+) t cell immunology in rickettsia typhi infection.	rickettsia (r) typhi is the causative agent of endemic typhus, a disease that occurs wordwide with increasing incidence and can be fatal. because of its obligate intracellular life style, genetic manipulation of this pathogen is difficult. nonetheless, in recent years genetic manipulation tools have been successfully applied to rickettsiae. we describe here for the first time the transformation of r. typhi with the pram18drga plasmid that originally derives from r. amblyommatis and encodes for t ...	2017	28289147
first detection of rickettsia typhi and rickettsia felis in fleas collected from client-owned companion animals in the southern great plains.	flea-borne rickettsiosis occurs worldwide and includes a number of pathogens, namely, rickettsia typhi and rickettsia felis. most studies in the united states have occurred in southern texas and california where flea-borne rickettsiosis is endemic, resulting in a lack of information from other regions of the country. between march and august 2016, 222 fleas were collected from 52 client-owned dogs and cats in two urban areas in oklahoma. fleas were identified using morphological characteristics ...	2017	28399210
anaplasma, ehrlichia and rickettsia species infections in cats: european guidelines from the abcd on prevention and management	anaplasma species, ehrlichia species and rickettsia species are vector-borne pathogens infecting a wide variety of mammals, but causing disease in very few of them. infection in cats: anaplasma phagocytophilum is the most important feline pathogen among these rickettsial organisms, and coinfections are possible. little information is available on the pathogenesis of these agents in cats. clinical signs are usually reported soon after tick infestation. they are mostly non-specific, consisting of ...	2017	28438088
fatal flea-borne typhus in texas: a retrospective case series, 1985-2015.	abstractflea-borne (murine) typhus is a global rickettsiosis caused by rickettsia typhi. although flea-borne typhus is no longer nationally notifiable, cases are reported for surveillance purposes in a few u.s. states. the infection is typically self-limiting, but may be severe or life-threatening in some patients. we performed a retrospective review of confirmed or probable cases of fatal flea-borne typhus reported to the texas department of state health services during 1985-2015. when availabl ...	2017	28500797
evidence of exposure to rickettsia felis in australian patients.	rickettsia felis is an emerging zoonosis, causing flea-borne spotted fever (fbsf). serological diagnosis is typically confounded by cross-reactivity with typhus group rickettsiae and prior to the development of specific serological methods, cases of fbsf in australia were misdiagnosed. patient sera tested between august 2010 and december 2013 and known to be seropositive to r. typhi by immunofluorescence antibody testing (ifat) were subsequently retested against r. felis using an r. felis-specif ...	2016	28616481
direct evidence of rickettsia typhi infection in rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks and their canine hosts.	murine typhus is a rickettsiosis caused by rickettsia typhi, whose transmission is carried out by rat fleas in urban settlements as classically known, but it also has been related to cat fleas in a sub-urban alternative cycle that has been suggested by recent reports. these studies remarks that in addition to rats, other animals like cats, opossums and dogs could be implied in the transmission of rickettsia typhi as infected fleas obtained from serologically positive animals have been detected i ...	2017	28652984
acute febrile illness and complications due to murine typhus, texas, usa1,2.	murine typhus occurs relatively commonly in southern texas, as well as in california. we reviewed records of 90 adults and children in whom murine typhus was diagnosed during a 3-year period in 2 hospitals in southern texas, usa. most patients lacked notable comorbidities; all were immunocompetent. initial signs and symptoms included fever (99%), malaise (82%), headache (77%), fatigue (70%), myalgias (68%), and rash (39%). complications, often severe, in 28% of patients included bronchiolitis, p ...	2017	28726607