Texas A&M Finds 42% of South Texas Cat Fleas Carry Bartonella, 4% Carry Typhus Bacteria
Updated
Updated · studyfinds.com · Jul 3
Texas A&M Finds 42% of South Texas Cat Fleas Carry Bartonella, 4% Carry Typhus Bacteria
3 articles · Updated · studyfinds.com · Jul 3
Summary
167 stray cats sampled across South Texas showed heavy flea exposure: 83% carried fleas, yielding 721 mostly common cat fleas for DNA testing.
42% of flea samples contained Bartonella henselae—the main cat scratch disease bacterium—while about 4% carried Rickettsia typhi, which causes murine typhus; roughly 22% of cats also had B. henselae in their blood.
25 flea samples carried both bacterial groups, and five of six typhus-positive samples also contained Bartonella, suggesting co-circulation stronger than chance alone would predict.
Hidalgo County, the study area, has recorded 710 murine typhus cases since 2017, and Texas logged more than 3,100 cases from 2010 to 2018 after 348 in the 1990s.
Researchers said the findings support closer surveillance of stray cat populations and routine flea control, while noting DNA detection does not prove fleas infected people and the sample was largely shelter-bound strays.