Out-of-Africa, human-mediated dispersal of the common cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis: the hitchhiker's guide to world domination.

This study defines the global distribution, African origin and phylogenetic relationships of global Ctenocephalides fleas, whilst resolving the taxonomy of the C. felis subspecies and related taxa. We show that humans have inadvertently precipitated the expansion of C. felis throughout the world, promoting diverse population structure and bioclimatic plasticity. By demonstrating the link between the global cat flea communities and their affinity for specific bioclimatic niches, we reveal the drivers behind the establishment and success of the cat flea as a global parasite. PMID: 30858050 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30858050?dopt=Abstract

Source: International Journal for Parasitology - March 7, 2019 Category: Parasitology Authors: Lawrence AL, Webb CE, Clark NJ, Halajian A, Mihalca AD, Miret J, D'Amico G, Brown G, Kumsa B, Modrý D, Šlapeta J Tags: Int J Parasitol Source Type: research