Survey for rickettsial infection of the spotted fever group in dogs, small mammals and ticks in endemic and non-endemic areas of the Pampa and Atlantic forest biomes in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

• Grant number: 12/21915-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: February 01, 2013
• End date: June 30, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Marcelo Bahia Labruna
• Grantee: Felipe da Silva Krawczak
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 15/10060-6 - Molecular characterization and multigenic phylogeography of isolates of Rickettsia bellii in the Americas, BE.EP.DR

Abstract

In 2005 the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS) notified its first suspeted case of Brazilian spotted fever (BSF) to the Brazilian Ministry of Health. During 2005-2009, there were seven human confirmed cases, all from Cerro largo municipality, in the endemic area for spotted fever rickettsiosis (Data from Ministry of Health). In RS, there are various tick species of the genus Amblyomma, which are known vectors of spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae to humans and animals in other states. During 2006-2007, twenty tick specimens found attached to humans in Cerro Largo were sent to the laboratory, and identified as Amblyomma ovale. During the last few years, some studies demonstrated that A.ovale from Atlantic Forest areas in the states of São Paulo and Santa Catarina were infected with R. parkeri strain Atlantic rainforest, which is a novel pathogen responsible for a novel SFG rickettiosis in Brasil. In RS there are two biomes: Atlantic Forest and Pampa; the later is not present at any other Brazilian state. Until now, there has been only two serological studies on spotted fever in the state: one specifically in the municipality of Cerro Largo, an endemic area for the disease, and another in the Pelotas region. Both studies showed that health horses, dogs and humans were exposed to spotted fever group rickettsiosis. In this context, the present study aims to search for SFG rickettsial infection in dogs, horses, small mammals, and ticks in an endemic area (Cerro Largo) and non-endemic areas within the Pampa and Atlantic Forest biomes in RS. This will be the first comparative research on BSF between Pampa and Atlantic Forest biomes, and also the first one to apply molecular tools and attempts to isolation SFG rickettsiae in cell culture from samples collected in RS.

Scientific publications

(6)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

GRESSLER, LUCAS TREVISAN; KRAWCZAK, FELIPE DA SILVA; KNOFF, MARCELO; MONTEIRO, SILVIA GONZALEZ; LABRUNA, MARCELO BAHIA; BINDER, LINA DE CAMPOS; DE OLIVEIRA, CAROLINE SOBOTYK; NOTARNICOLA, JULIANA. Litomosoides silvai (Nematoda: Onchocercidae) parasitizing Akodon montensis (Rodentia: Cricetidae) in the southern region of Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia Veterinária, v. 26, n. 4, p. 433-438, OCT-DEC 2017. (16/07241-1, 12/21915-4)

PORTO DE ABREU, JULIANA AIZAWA; KRAWCZAK, FELIPE DA SILVA; GUEDES, ISRAEL BARBOSA; DE SOUZA-FILHO, ANTONIO FRANCISCO; DE SOUZA, GISELE OLIVEIRA; BINDER, LINA DE CAMPOS; DE OLIVEIRA, CAROLINE SOBOTYK; SPONCHIADO, JONAS; MELO, GERUZA LEAL; LABRUNA, MARCELO BAHIA; et al. Frequency of anti-Leptospira spp. antibodies in dogs and wild small mammals from rural properties and conservation units in southern Brazil. ONE HEALTH, v. 8, DEC 2019. (12/21915-4)

KRAWCZAK, FELIPE S.; BINDER, LINA C.; OLIVEIRA, CAROLINE S.; COSTA, FRANCISCO B.; MORAES-FILHO, JONAS; MARTINS, THIAGO F.; SPONCHIADO, JONAS; MELO, GERUZA L.; GREGORI, FABIO; POLO, GINA; et al. Ecology of a tick-borne spotted fever in southern Brazil. Experimental and Applied Acarology, v. 70, n. 2, p. 219-229, OCT 2016. (12/21915-4)

KRAWCZAK, FELIPE DA SILVA; BINDER, LINA C.; SOBOTYK, CAROLINE; COSTA, FRANCISCO B.; GREGORI, FABIO; MARTINS, THIAGO F.; PADUA, GRACIELLE T.; SPONCHIADO, JONAS; MELO, GERUZA L.; POLO, GINA; et al. Rickettsial infection in ticks from a natural area of Atlantic Forest biome in southern Brazil. Experimental and Applied Acarology, v. 88, n. 3-4, p. 16-pg., 2022-11-07. (12/21915-4)

KRAWCZAK, FELIPE S.; BINDER, LINA C.; GREGORI, FABIO; MARTINS, THIAGO F.; PADUA, GRACIELLE T.; SPONCHIADO, JONAS; MELO, GERUZA L.; POLO, GINA; LABRUNA, MARCELO B.. 'Candidatus Rickettsia andeanae' and Probable Exclusion of Rickettsia parkeri in Ticks from Dogs in a Natural Area of the Pampa Biome in Brazil. PATHOGENS, v. 12, n. 3, p. 12-pg., 2023-03-01. (12/21915-4)

GRESSLER, LUCAS TREVISAN; KRAWCZAK, FELIPE DA SILVA; KNOFF, MARCELO; MONTEIRO, SILVIA GONZALEZ; LABRUNA, MARCELO BAHIA; BINDER, LINA DE CAMPOS; DE OLIVEIRA, CAROLINE SOBOTYK; NOTARNICOLA, JULIANA. Litomosoides silvai (Nematoda: Onchocercidae) parasitizing Akodon montensis (Rodentia: Cricetidae) in the southern region of Brazil. REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE PARASITOLOGIA VETERINARIA, v. 26, n. 4, p. 6-pg., 2017-10-01. (12/21915-4, 16/07241-1)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

KRAWCZAK, Felipe da Silva. Survey for rickettsial infection of the spotted fever group in dogs, small mammals and ticks in endemic and non-endemic areas of the Pampa and Atlantic forest biomes in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. 2016. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ/SBD) São Paulo.