Small mammals, ticks and rickettsiae in natural and human-modified landscapes: Diversity and occurrence of Brazilian spotted fever in Brazil

Autor: Daniel Moura de Aguiar, Matias Pablo Juan Szabó, Lucas Ribeiro Correa, Adriane Suzin, Lidiani Silva Correa, Diego Garcia Ramirez, Maria Carolina de Azevedo Serpa, Hermes Ribeiro Luz, Thiago da Costa Dias, Thiago F. Martins, José Brites-Neto, Beatriz Lopes, Patrícia Ferreira Monticelli, Ana Maria Nievas, Jardel Brasil, Vanessa do Nascimento Ramos, Francisco B. Costa, Richard de Campos Pacheco, Vlamir José Rocha, Ubiratan Piovezan, Bárbara Weck, Marcelo Bahia Labruna, Katia Maria Paschoaletto Micchi de Barros Ferraz, Maria Estela Gaglianone Moro, Hector R. Benatti, Alexandre Reis Percequillo
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: Repositório Institucional da USP (Biblioteca Digital da Produção Intelectual)
Universidade de São Paulo (USP)
instacron:USP
ISSN: 1877-9603
Popis: We studied communities of small mammals and their ticks in endemic (E) and non-endemic (NE) areas for Brazilian spotted fever (BSF), aiming to infer if diversity parameters of parasites and hosts could be related to occurrence and prevalence of rickettsial infection, especially Rickettsia rickettsii. We compared E and NE areas in human-modified landscapes (HMLs) and natural areas (BIO) with no report of BSF cases. Composition and equitability were important components of diversity explaining differences among areas. The marsupial Didelphis albiventris was dominant in HMLs, but not in natural areas, and this opossum was the main host for the tick Amblyomma sculptum, principal vector of R. rickettsii, especially in E areas. Communities of ticks were dominated by A. sculptum, followed by Amblyomma dubitatum in E areas. In NE areas, this dominance was inverted, with more A. dubitatum than A. sculptum infesting small mammals, but the numbers of ticks were much lower than in E areas. Composition and abundance of ticks in natural areas were very dissimilar from HMLs, with the lowest tick burdens. Didelphis albiventris in E areas presented higher seroprevalence and endpoint titres against R. rickettsii than in other areas. At least three Rickettsia species, non-pathogenic to humans, were detected in natural areas (Rickettsia bellii, Rickettsia amblyommatis and 'Candidatus Rickettsia andeanae'), and only one non-pathogenic species in HMLs (R. bellii). Our results suggest that higher diversity of ticks, hosts and rickettsiae could be relevant factors in buffering the effect in BSF occurrence. Particularly for D. albiventris, its importance has to be quantified in further studies considering the epidemiological scenario of BSF.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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