In a sanctuary located on the island of Malta, 23 clinically healthy cats randomly
selected were sampled for blood and fleas. Only fleas were collected from 35 cats.
All fleas were identified as Ctenocephalides felis, except for one specimen of Ctenocephalides
canis. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this may be the first time to establish
the occurrence of Bartonella koehlerae and B. clarridgeiae, as well as of Candidatus
Mycoplasma haemominutum in the blood samples of 11 cats (47.82% [95% CI: 29.33-67.04])
with conventional PCR assays. One or more pathogens were found in 54 (96.42% [95%
CI: 86.74-99.70]) out of 56 pooled flea samples, the most prevalent was Rickettsia
felis. The DNA of Bartonella henselae, the commonest etiological agent of cat scratch
disease, was detected first time in a pooled flea sample of a cat.
