Oral Flea Preventive to Control <i>Rickettsia typhi</i>–Infected Fleas on Reservoir Opossums, Galveston, Texas, USA, 2023–2024
Murine typhus, a fleaborne bacterial disease caused by Rickettsia typhi, has reemerged and spread in the United States. We tested spinosad, an oral flea preventive, in opossum flea reservoirs. Spinosad killed 98% of fleas infesting opossums. Oral preventives could control fleas in host species and curb murine typhus spread to humans.
Authors
- Lucas S. Blanton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4653-2323)
- Alejandro Villasante‐Tezanos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5108-8637)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Emerging infectious diseases
- Published
- 2025-05-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3201/eid3106.241817
- Primary Topic
- Vector-borne infectious diseases
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00