Evaluation of the vector competence of six ixodid tick species for Rangelia vitalii (Apicomplexa, Piroplasmorida), the agent of canine rangeliosis

Rangelia vitalii infection in a dog from São Paulo city, Brazil: case report

“…In contrast, the species A. ovale, A. tigrinum, A. sculptum and Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato were not competent vectors of this protozoan, since they did not acquire the infection after feeding on infected dogs. The same study reports that Amblyomma aureolatum can acquire R. vitalii infection by feeding the nymph and adult stages in infected dogs and infection by this agent is maintained in the vector by transovarial transmission and transestadial perpetuation, both from larvae to nymphs and from nymph to adult (Soares et al, 2018).…”

“…Rangelia vitalii is the etiological agent of canine Rangeliosis, a serious piroplasmosis that affects domestic dogs in Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina (Eiras et al, 2014;Lemos et al, 2012Lemos et al, , 2017Rivero et al, 2017;Soares et al, 2011). It is a protozoan that belongs to the Phylum Apicomplexa, Order Piroplasmorida, which infects dogs, is transmitted by ticks of the species Amblyomma aureolatum, and causes an extravascular hemolytic disorder (Soares et al, 2018).…”

“…The existence of wild reservoirs for R. vitalii has not yet been confirmed, but it is based on reports of blood smears of piroplasms or molecular detection of R. vitalii on canids of the species Lycalopex gymnocercus (Ruas, 2005) and Cerdocyon thous (Paraense & Vianna, 1948), and on A. aureolatum parasitism in the same wild canid species (Quadros et al, 2015;Soares et al, 2018).…”

“…The spontaneous bleeding is correlated with the intense consumption of platelets, since this protozoan has the capacity to parasite and injure the vascular endothelium, which can occur in the ears and on the skin, which has led to the popular denomination of the disease as "blood plague" or "Nambiuvú", which means "ear that bleeds" in the indigenous Tupi Guarani language. Lesions in the vascular endothelium of vessels that irrigate the digestive system can lead to intestinal changes, as well as the loss of blood into the intestinal lumen, causing a bloody diarrhea that is initially orange, which later becomes dark, often with the presence of blood streaks, making the disease also known as "Nambiuvú of the intestines" (Soares et al, 2018).…”

“…The differentiation of these species is made by molecular diagnostics by PCR with specific probes or by sequencing. Recent works have been based on amplification of fragments of the 18S rRNA gene or the heat shock protein 70 (hsp70) (Lemos et al, 2012;Soares et al, 2011Soares et al, , 2018.…”