A study from the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences detected DNA from Rickettsia typhi, the bacterium that causes flea-borne murine typhus, in cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) collected from domestic cats in the Rio Grande Valley, the southernmost point of Texas. This region consistently records some of the highest human murine typhus case counts in Texas.
The study results indicate vector and reservoir considerations for Rickettsia typhi are changing to include cats along with rats and rat fleas and reinforce the need for One Health surveillance. In the U.S., the cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis), dog flea (Ctenocephalides canis), ground squirrel flea (Oropsylla montana), and Oriental rat flea (Xenopsylla cheopis) are known to cause disease in humans <Link>.
Source: DVM360, July 8, 2026. Link. The study did not directly examine transmission among cats, fleas, and people, but it clarifies which pathogens are circulating in local flea populations where human cases keep occurring.
Texas A&M researchers detected Rickettsia typhi and Bartonella species in fleas pulled from domestic cats in the Rio Grande Valley, reinforcing the case for year-round parasite control.”
Related: Fleas and flea-borne diseases, International Journal of Infectious Diseases. Link.
Flea-borne infections are emerging or re-emerging throughout the world, and their incidence is on the rise. Furthermore, their distribution and that of their vectors is shifting and expanding.”
Image: Link.
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