Survey of Rickettsia spp. in ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) infesting opossums (Didelphis albiventris) and capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) from an urban park in southeastern Brazil

• Published in: Experimental & applied acarology Vol. 92; no. 3; pp. 463 - 477
• Main Authors: Caixeta, Bruno Tolentino, Tolesano-Pascoli, Graziela Virginia, Mundim, Flávia Lúcio, Pascoal, Jamile de Oliveira, Rodrigues, Vinícius da Silva, Martins, Maria Marlene, Ramos, Vanessa do Nascimento, Torga, Khelma, Costa, Lourenço Faria, Miranda, Vinícius Campos, Benfatti, Luisa Rodrigues, Silva, Leticia Maria, Limongi, Jean Ezequiel, Szabó, Matias Pablo Juan, Yokosawa, Jonny
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01-04-2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adults; Amblyomma; Animal Ecology; Animal Genetics and Genomics; Animal Systematics/Taxonomy/Biogeography; Animals; Arachnids; Arthropods; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Clusters; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Developmental stages; Didelphis albiventris; Disease; DNA; Entomology; Fever; Genetic testing; Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris; Ketamine; Larvae; Life Sciences; Nymphs; Pathogens; Polymerase chain reaction; Rickettsia; Ticks; Vertebrates; Brazil; Rickettsiales; Didelphimorphia; Molecular detection; Tick-borne diseases; Rodentia
• ISSN: 0168-8162; 1572-9702; 1572-9702
• DOI: 10.1007/s10493-023-00885-1

Ticks are hematophagous arthropods and, during feeding, may transmit pathogens to vertebrate hosts, including humans. This study aimed to investigate the presence of
Rickettsia
spp. in ticks collected between 2010 and 2013 from free-ranging capybaras (
Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris
) and opossums (
Didelphis albiventris
) that inhabit Sabiá Park in Uberlândia, Brazil. Overall, 1,860 ticks were collected: 1,272 (68.4%) from capybaras (487 of the species
Amblyomma sculptum
, 475 adults and 12 nymphs; 778
Amblyomma dubitatum
, 727 adults and 51 nymphs; and seven larva clusters of the genus
Amblyomma
); and 588 (31.6%) from opossums (21
A. sculptum
, one adult and 20 nymphs; 79
A. dubitatum
, all nymphs; 15
Ixodes loricatus
, 12 adults and three nymphs; 457
Amblyomma
sp. larva clusters; 15
Ixodes
sp. larva clusters; and one Argasidae larva cluster). Out of 201 DNA samples tested for the presence of
Rickettsia
spp. DNA using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) 12 showed amplification of a
gtlA
gene segment that was specific to
Rickettsia bellii
, a bacterium non-pathogenic to humans. As there has been a report showing serological evidence of infections caused by
Rickettsia
species of the spotted fever group (SFG) in capybaras and opossums in the park, including
Rickettsia rickettsii
, the etiological agent of Brazilian spotted fever, and considering the presence of
A. sculptum
ticks, which are aggressive to humans, as well as these vertebrate hosts, which are amplifiers of
R. rickettsii
, it is important to monitor the presence of SFG rickettsiae in the Sabiá Park, which is visited daily by thousands of people.