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(Reference retrieved automatically from SciELO through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Rickettsial infection in ticks infesting wild birds from two eco-regions of Argentina

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Author(s):
Fernando Sebastián Flores [1] ; Francisco Borges Costa [2] ; Santiago Nava [3] ; Luiz Adrián Diaz ; Marcelo Bahia Labruna [5]
Total Authors: 5
Affiliation:
[1] Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad Ciencias Médicas - Argentina
[2] Universidade de São Paulo. Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia - Brasil
[3] Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria - Argentina
[5] Universidade de São Paulo. Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia - Brasil
Total Affiliations: 5
Document type: Journal article
Source: Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia Veterinária; v. 25, n. 3, p. 378-382, 2016-08-25.
Abstract

Abstract Several tick-borne Rickettsia species are recognized human pathogens in Argentina. Here we evaluated rickettsial infection in ticks collected on passerine birds during 2011-2012 in two eco-regions of Argentina. The ticks were processed by molecular analysis through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection and DNA sequencing of fragments of two rickettsial genes, gltA and ompA. A total of 594 tick specimens (532 larvae and 62 nymphs), representing at least 4 species (Amblyomma tigrinum, Ixodes pararicinus, Haemaphysalis juxtakochi, Haemaphysalis leporispalustris), were evaluated. At least one A. tigrinum larva, collected on Coryphospingus cucullatus in Chaco Seco, was infected with Rickettsia parkeri, whereas at least 12 larvae and 1 nymph of I. pararicinus, collected from Troglodytes aedon, Turdus amaurochalinus, Turdus rufiventris, C. cucullatus and Zonotrichia capensis, were infected with an undescribed Rickettsia agent, genetically related to several rickettsial endosymbionts of ticks of the Ixodes ricinus complex. R. parkeri is a recognized human pathogen in several American countries including Argentina, where a recent study incriminated A. tigrinum as the potential vector of R. parkeri to humans. Birds could play an important role in dispersing R. parkeri-infected A. tigrinum ticks. Additionally, we report for the first time a rickettsial agent infecting I. pararicinus ticks. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 13/50605-6 - Evaluation of the infection of birds and hard ticks by Flavivirus and Rickettsias of regional healthy importance
Grantee:Marcelo Bahia Labruna
Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants