Human parasitism and toxicosis by Ornithodoros rietcorreai (Acari: Argasidae) in an urban area of Northeastern Brazil

Human parasitism and toxicosis by Ornithodoros rietcorreai (Acari: Argasidae) in an urban area of Northeastern Brazil

The soft tick, Ornithodoros rietcorreai, is a parasite of the rodent, Kerodon rupestris, and, to a lesser extent, of bats living in rock cavities in Northeastern Brazil. This report describes the first recorded episodes of human parasitism by this argasid tick, reported to the Brazilian Ministry of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ticks and tick-borne diseases Vol. 9; no. 6; pp. 1494 - 1498
Main Authors: de Oliveira, Stefan Vilges, Bitencourth, Karla, Borsoi, Ana Beatriz Pais, de Freitas, Francisca Samya Silva, Castelo Branco Coelho, Gerlene, Amorim, Marinete, Gazeta, Gilberto Salles
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Netherlands Elsevier GmbH 01-09-2018
Subjects:
Animals
Argasidae
Brazil - epidemiology
Cities
Dermatosis
Epidemiological surveillance
Female
Humans
Male
Ornithodoros - physiology
Tick Infestations - epidemiology
Tick Infestations - parasitology
Tick-borne diseases
Toxicosis
Brazil
Cities
Epidemiological surveillance
Toxicosis
Argasidae
Dermatosis
Tick-borne diseases
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Summary:The soft tick, Ornithodoros rietcorreai, is a parasite of the rodent, Kerodon rupestris, and, to a lesser extent, of bats living in rock cavities in Northeastern Brazil. This report describes the first recorded episodes of human parasitism by this argasid tick, reported to the Brazilian Ministry of Health in September 2017. We assessed outdoor environments, roofs, animal nests and chicken coops in five houses located in an urban area of Russas City, Ceará State, Brazil. Our results confirmed the presence of the tick in two of the assessed houses. The collected specimens were molecularly identified as O. rietcorreai. Of the ten individuals living in the investigated properties, three reported being parasitized by ticks. Although O. rietcorreai ticks were recovered from the evaluated houses, the primary hosts for the ticks were not identified. The retrospective medical records of parasitized individuals reported the following: local pruritus 3/3, malaise 3/3, local edema and erythema 3/3, local rash 3/3, local pain 3/3, slow lesion healing 3/3 and paresthesia 1/3. One of the individuals reported four parasitism episodes (March, June, July and August 2017) and required medical attention and the administration of anti-allergy and anti-inflammatory drugs. The aforementioned reports were the first to address human parasitism, with subsequent toxicosis, by this tick species in Brazilian urban areas. Attention was drawn to the potential consequences of such episodes to the health of previously exposed individuals.
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ISSN:1877-959X
1877-9603
DOI:10.1016/j.ttbdis.2018.07.011