Molecular identification of Rickettsia felis in ticks and fleas from an endemic area for Brazilian Spotted Fever

Oliveira, Karla Andrade de; Oliveira, L.S. de; Dias, Camila Loureiro; Silva, A.; Almeida, Márcia Rogéria de; Almada, Gilton Luiz; Bouyer, Donald H.; Galvão, Márcio Antônio Moreira; Mafra, Cláudio

doi:10.1590/s0074-02762008000200011

Cited by 55 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Although most reports on R. felis were associated to the flea Ctenocephalides felis felis collected in cats and/or dogs (LABRUNA et al, 2007b;NAVA et al, 2008;OLIVEIRA et al, 2008;GEHRKE et al, 2009), future studies should be conducted to fully establish flea rickettsial burden.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seroprevalence of Rickettsia bellii and Rickettsia felis in dogs, São José dos Pinhais, State of Paraná, Brazil

Fortes

Silveira

Moraes‐Filho

et al. 2010

Rev. Bras. Parasitol. Vet.

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Seroprevalence of Rickettsia bellii and AbstractBrazilian spotted fever (BSF) is a vector-borne zoonosis caused by Rickettsia rickettsii bacteria. Dogs can be host sentinels for this bacterium. The aim of the study was to determine the presence of antibodies against Rickettsia spp. in dogs from the city of São José dos Pinhais, State of Paraná, Southern Brazil, where a human case of BSF was first reported in the state. Between February 2006 and July 2007, serum samples from 364 dogs were collected and tested at 1:64 dilutions by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) against R. rickettsii and R. parkeri. All sera that reacted at least to one of Rickettsia species were tested against the six main Rickettsia species identified in Brazil: R. rickettsii, R. parkeri, R. bellii, R. rhipicephali, R. amblyommii and R. felis. Sixteen samples (4.4%) reacted to at least one Rickettsia species. Among positive animals, two dogs (15.5%) showed suggestive titers for R. bellii exposure. One sample had a homologous reaction to R. felis, a confirmed human pathogen. Although Rickettsia spp. circulation in dogs in the area studied may be considered at low prevalence, suggesting low risk of human infection, the present data demonstrate for the first time the exposure of dogs to R. bellii and R. felis in Southern Brazil.Keywords: Brazilian spotted fever, Rickettsia rickettsii, sentinels, indirect immunofluorescence assay. ResumoA febre maculosa brasileira (FMB) é uma zoonose veiculada por carrapatos e causada pela bactéria Rickettsia rickettsii, podendo os cães ser hospedeiros sentinelas para essa bactéria. O objetivo do estudo foi determinar a presença de anticorpos contra Rickettsia spp. em cães de São José dos Pinhais, estado do Paraná, Sul do Brasil. Entre fevereiro de 2006 e julho de 2007, amostras séricas de 364 cães foram coletadas e testadas na diluição de 1:64 por Reação de Imunofluorescência Indireta (RIFI) contra R. rickettsii e R. parkeri. Todos os soros reagentes para pelo menos uma espécie de Rickettsia foram testados contra as seis principais espécies de Rickettsia identificadas no Brasil: R. rickettsii, R. parkeri, R. bellii, R. rhipicephali, R. amblyommii e R. felis. Dezesseis amostras (4,4%) reagiram para pelo menos uma espécie de Rickettsia. Dos animais positivos, dois cães (15,5%) apresentaram títulos sugestivos de exposição a R. bellii. Uma amostra apresentou reação homóloga frente à R. felis, um agente patogênico confirmado para seres humanos. Muito embora os resultados demonstrem uma baixa prevalência de Rickettsia spp. em cães, sugerindo um baixo risco de infecção humana, este estudo relatou pela primeira vez a evidência de exposição a R. bellii e R. felis em cães no Sul do Brasil.Palavras-chave: Febre maculosa brasileira, Rickettsia rickettsii, sentinelas, reação de imunofluorescência indireta.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seroprevalence of Rickettsia bellii and Rickettsia felis in dogs, São José dos Pinhais, State of Paraná, Brazil

Fortes

Silveira

Moraes‐Filho

et al. 2010

Rev. Bras. Parasitol. Vet.

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“…Although other species of Rickettsia have been described in the Brazilian territory, as Rickettsia parkeri (Horta et al 2004 and Rickettsia felis (Cardoso et al 2006, Oliveira et al 2008, only R. rickettsii has been identified in BSF human cases.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, recently R. sanguineus has been identified as reservoir of Rickettsia felis in Brazil (Cardoso et al 2006, Oliveira et al 2008), although previous studies had shown evidence of infected R. sanguineus in endemic areas in Brazilian states of Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro (Lemos et al 1997a, Rozental et al 2002 The increasing number of cases of human parasitism by R. sanguineus ticks reported in the literature indicates that the interaction between human beings and R. sanguineus may be more common than it is recognized in the American continent.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First identification of natural infection of Rickettsia rickettsii in the Rhipicephalus sanguineus tick, in the State of Rio de Janeiro

et al. 2009

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The Brazilian Spotted Fever (BSF) is a zoonotic disease caused by Rickettsia rickettsii and transmitted by ticks of the genus Amblyomma, more frequently, Amblyomma cajennense. The aim of this paper was to report the first molecular detection of R. rickettsii on R. sanguineus naturally infected in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Ticks were collected from dogs in a rural region of Resende municipality, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil (22º30'9.46"S, 44º42'44.29"WO), where occurred five human cases of BSF in 2006. The ticks were identified under a stereoscopic microscope and separated in pools by stages, species and sex. DNA extraction was carried out using QIAamp DNA Mini Kit (QIAGEN®). The DNA was submitted to PCR amplification using 04 set of primers: Rr190.70p/Rr190.602n (OmpA, 532bp), BG1-21/BG2-20 (OmpB, 650bp), Tz15/Tz16 (17 kDa protein-encoding gene, 246bp) and RpCS.877p/RpCS.1258n (gltA, 381bp). PCR products were separated by electrophoresis on 1% agarose gels and visualized under ultraviolet light with ethidium bromide. PCR products of the expected sizes were purified by QIAquick® and sequenced by ABI PRISM®. The generated nucleotide sequences were edited with using Bioedit® software and compared with the corresponding homologous sequences available through GenBank, using Discontiguous Mega Blast (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). It was confirmed R. rickettsii by sequencing of the material (GenBank FJ356230). The molecular characterization of R. rickettsii in the tick R. sanguineus emphasizes the role of dogs as carriers of ticks from the environment to home. Moreover, this result suggests that there is a considerable chance for active participation of R. sanguineus as one of tick species in the transmission of R. ricketsii to human being in the Brazilian territory.

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“…Fleas are a reservoir of Rickettsia typhi and R. felis, which are pathogens of murine typhus and these rickettsia are associated with the most prevalent rickettsial disease in Brazil, the Brazilian spotted fever group that is endemic in the states of Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, and São Paulo (CARDOSO et al 2006;OLIVEIRA et al 2008), According to Azad et al (1992), R. felis is maintained in cat flea by transovarial transmission, a characteristics that is of extremely importance to identify foci of this emerging disease. Recently Horta et al (2007) reported P. atopus infected by R. felis, suggesting that this wild flea is a potential vector and reservoir.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given their great adaptation capacity, some of them are assiduous species in rural and urban environments and many times are associated to the transfer of pathogenic agents to domestic animals and human populations. The ectoparasites of these small mammals such as ticks, fleas and lice can play a major role as vectors of these agents (SIMON, 1954;BRASIL et al, 1989;WEBB et al, 1990;WHO, 1999;CARVALHO et al, 2001a;OLIVEIRA et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Siphonaptera of small rodents and marsupials in the Pedra Branca State Park, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Oliveira¹,

Almeida²,

Carvalho³

et al. 2010

Rev. Bras. Parasitol. Vet. (Online)

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In an region of Atlantic Rainforest corresponding to the geopolitical area of the Pedra Branca State Park, Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil, 160 small mammals were captured, of which 64 rodents and 96 marsupials from October 2005 to October 2007. There were collected in these hosts six flea species from three families (Ctenophthalmidae, Rhopalopsyllidae and Pulicidae), totalizing 162 specimens. Adoratopsylla (Tritopsylla) intermedia intermedia was the most common species found, followed by Polygenis (Polygenis) occidentalis occidentalis. Philander frenatus and Micoureus paraguayanus were reported as new hosts to Adoratopsylla (Tritopsylla) intermedia intermedia and P. o. occidentalis was reported for the first time in the city of Rio de Janeiro.Keywords: Siphonaptera, Rodentia, Didelphimorphia, ectoparasites, fleas. ResumoNa Mata Atlântica área correspondente ao espaço geopolítico do Parque Estadual da Pedra Branca, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, entre outubro de 2005 e outubro de 2007, 160 pequenos mamíferos foram capturados, sendo 64 pequenos roedores e 96 marsupiais. Nestes hospedeiros, foram coletadas seis espécies de pulgas relacionadas a três famílias (Ctenophthalmidae, Rhopalopsyllidae e Pulicidae), totalizando 162 espécimes. Adoratopsylla (Tritopsylla) intermedia intermedia foi a espécie mais freqüente, seguida por Polygenis (Polygenis) occidentalis occidentalis. Novos hospedeiros foram registrados, Philander frenatus e Micoureus paraguayanus para Adoratopsylla (Tritopsylla) intermedia intermedia, bem como a ocorrência de algumas espécies de Siphonaptera encontrados em novo espaço geopolítico, P. o. occidentalis e no município do Rio de Janeiro.

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Molecular identification of Rickettsia felis in ticks and fleas from an endemic area for Brazilian Spotted Fever

Cited by 55 publications

References 17 publications

Seroprevalence of Rickettsia bellii and Rickettsia felis in dogs, São José dos Pinhais, State of Paraná, Brazil

Seroprevalence of Rickettsia bellii and Rickettsia felis in dogs, São José dos Pinhais, State of Paraná, Brazil

First identification of natural infection of Rickettsia rickettsii in the Rhipicephalus sanguineus tick, in the State of Rio de Janeiro

Siphonaptera of small rodents and marsupials in the Pedra Branca State Park, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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