Ticks and rickettsial infection in the wildlife of two regions of the Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

During 2009-2012, wild animals and their ticks were sampled in two areas within the Amazon biome of Brazil, in the states of Mato Grosso and Pará. Animal tissues, blood, and ticks were molecularly tested for Rickettsia and Coxiella DNA. A total of 182 wild animals were sampled, comprising 28 mammalian, five avian, and three reptilian species. Animal tissues or blood were all negative for Rickettsia or Coxiella DNA. A total of 454 ticks (22 larvae, 226 nymphs, 127 males, 79 females) were collected from 52 (28.6%) animals, and identified into 15 species: Amblyomma cajennense, A. naponense, A. humerale, A. nodosum, A. goeldii, A. oblongoguttatum, A. longirostre, A. calcaratum, A. coelebs, A. pacae, A. geayii, A. rotundatum, A. auricularium, A. ovale, and Haemaphysalis juxtakochi. While no Coxiella DNA was identified in ticks, six Rickettsia species were detected in the ticks. "Candidatus Rickettsia amblyommii" was the most common agent, detected in four tick species, A. cajennense, A. auricularium, A. longirostre, and A. humerale. The second most common agent, R. bellii, was detected in A. humerale and A. naponense. Rickettsia rhipicephali was detected in H. juxtakochi, and R. felis in A. humerale. Two possible new Rickettsia species were detected in A. naponense ticks, namely, a novel spotted fever group agent close-related to R. africae in Pará, and a novel Canadensis group agent in Mato Grosso. Results of the present study expand our knowledge on the tick fauna, and on the yet infantile knowledge of tick-borne rickettsiae in the Amazon biome.

Tick fauna of wild animals received and attended at the Santarém Zoological Park, western Pará State, Brazil

“…In the present study, adults of A. goeldii and A. nodosum were identified on T. tetradactyla, corroborating MARTINS et al (2014, 2015a) and SOARES et al (2015, who also identified southern tamanduas as hosts for these two species of ixodids in the North region of the country.…”

“…The ticks Amblyomma goeldii and Amblyomma nodosum have also been described as parasitizing southern tamanduas during the adult stage (MARTINS et al, 2014(MARTINS et al, , 2015aSOARES et al, 2015). In the present study, adults of A. goeldii and A. nodosum were identified on T. tetradactyla, corroborating MARTINS et al (2014, 2015a) and SOARES et al (2015, who also identified southern tamanduas as hosts for these two species of ixodids in the North region of the country.…”

“…In addition, four nymphs of Amblyomma naponense were identified on this same host species. Nymphal stage of A. humerale was recently recorded in southern tamanduas (SOARES et al, 2015;WITTER et al, 2016). In contrast, the identification of A. naponense nymphs on T. tetradactyla is reported for the first time in Brazil, thus contributing further to the knowledge on the biology and ecology of this understudied tick species.…”

Investigação molecular de Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma platys, Anaplasma phagocytophilum e Rickettsia spp. em felídeos selvagens cativos

“…As bactérias Rickettsia rickettsii, R. parkeri, Rickettsia sp. cepa Mata Atlântica são consideradas importantes zoonoses (Soares et al 2015, Oliveira et al 2017, bem como o Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Ehrlichia chaffeensis e E. ewingii (Vieira et al 2011).…”

Infestação por carrapatos Argasidae e Ixodidae em pequenos mamíferos silvestres da Estação Experimental Rafael Fernandes, Mossoró/RN

“…Ela pode representar uma valiosa fonte de informações, principalmente em localidades nunca antes estudadas, pois funciona como indicadora da qualidade do ambiente ao demonstrar, para agentes que hospeda, os desequilíbrios a que está exposta. Fato este pode sugerir boa capacidade de suporte e qualidade ambiental quando suas espécies sobrevivem bem (Thompson et al 2009, Soares et al 2015.…”