One Health Approach to Brazilian Spotted Fever: Capybaras, Horses, and Rural Areas as Predictors for Human Disease.

(1) Background: Brazilian spotted fever (BSF) is a tick-borne disease that has occurred in several Brazilian regions, caused by spp. bacteria and mainly transmitted by ticks. Despite the high BSF lethality in several Brazilian endemic areas, predictors and associated risk factors remain to be fully established.

A wolf at the door: the ecology, epidemiology, and emergence of community- and urban-level Rocky Mountain spotted fever in the Americas.

RMSF, a tickborne infection caused by Rickettsia rickettsii, produces severe and fatal disease in humans and dogs. Since the beginning of the 21st century, cases have risen dramatically, most notably in Mexico and Brazil, where outbreaks occur in urban centers including cities with populations of > 1,000,000 persons. Reported case fatality rates can exceed 50%.

Experimental infection of wild boars (Sus scrofa) with Rickettsia rickettsii and evaluation of the transmission potential to Amblyomma sculptum ticks.

Background: Brazilian spotted fever is a tick-borne disease caused by the bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii, whose main vector in Brazil is the tick Amblyomma sculptum. Amplifying hosts are essential for the perpetuation of this bacterium in the tick population as they can be sources of infection during bacteremic periods. Recent studies demonstrated the ability of suids (Sus scrofa) to sustain populations of A.

Eco-epidemiological analysis of Rickettsia parkeri in domestic dogs and Amblyomma ovale ticks in the Atlantic rainforest of Northeast Brazil.

In Brazil, spotted fever (SF) is caused by two species of Rickettsia, both of which are transmitted by Amblyomma ticks: Rickettsia rickettsii, which results in severe and often fatal cases, and Rickettsia parkeri, which causes a mild illness. This study focused on R. parkeri in Amblyomma ovale ticks from the Maciço de Baturité region, Ceará, Northeast Brazil, an area endemic for SF with mild symptoms.

Species distribution modeling for disease ecology: A multi-scale case study for schistosomiasis host snails in Brazil.

Species distribution models (SDMs) are increasingly popular tools for profiling disease risk in ecology, particularly for infectious diseases of public health importance that include an obligate non-human host in their transmission cycle. SDMs can create high-resolution maps of host distribution across geographical scales, reflecting baseline risk of disease. However, as SDM computational methods have rapidly expanded, there are many outstanding methodological questions.

Ecological aspects of Pintomyia fischeri and Migonemyia migonei in municipalities with Canine Visceral Leishmaniasis, State of São Paulo, Brazil.

The objective was to study the composition of sand fly species, the seasonal activity of the dominant species and correlation with average rainfall, sex association of the dominant species with domicile habitats and analyze different landscape scenarios for the two study sites in the municipalities of Itapevi and Mogi of the Crosses. Sandflies were captured with CDC(s) traps installed in three households at each study site for a period of 24 hours, biweekly for two years. A total of 2970 specimens were collected.

Evaluation of completeness and timeliness of data in the National Information System for Notifiable Diseases for spotted fever in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, 2007-2017.

Objective: to evaluate the completeness and timeliness of notifications of cases of spotted fever (SF) held on the Notifiable Health Conditions Information System (SINAN) in São Paulo State, Brazil, from 2007 to 2017.

Methods: this was a descriptive and ecological study of confirmed human cases of SF regarding completeness and timeliness of ten fields of the notification form (good if ≥ 90% for most variables); time series analysis was performed using the Prais-Winsten technique.

Results: we analyzed 736 records; among essential fields, only "Discharge date" showed poor completeness (68.

Long-term persistence of anti-Rickettsia rickettsii antibodies in capybaras, with passive transfer to offspring.

The bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii is the etiological agent of Brazilian spotted fever (BSF), and its most important vector to humans in Brazil is the tick Amblyomma sculptum. Capybaras are the main hosts of A. sculptum in many BSF-endemic areas and are considered valuable sentinels for BSF surveillance.

Soft and hard ticks (Parasitiformes: Ixodida) on humans: A review of Brazilian biomes and the impact of environmental change.

Records of accidental parasitism by ticks in humans from Brazil are scarce, with most being reported by researchers who are parasitized during their research and by professionals who work with animals. In order to compile these records, an extensive literature review was carried out. Our revision includes studies published between 1909 and 2022, including nine species of the Argasidae family and 32 species of the Ixodidae family that were reported biting humans in the six biomes of the Brazilian territory.

Domestic dogs as amplifying hosts of Rickettsia rickettsii for Amblyomma aureolatum ticks.

Brazilian spotted fever (BSF) is an acute infectious disease caused by the bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii, which is transmitted by different tick species. Due to deleterious effects caused on ticks, the horizontal transmission of R. rickettsii through amplifying hosts is crucial for its maintenance in tick populations among BSF-endemic areas.

Diffusion of sylvatic yellow fever in the state of São Paulo, Brazil.

We investigated the sylvatic yellow fever (SYF) diffusion process in São Paulo (SP) between 2016 and 2019. We developed an ecological study of SYF through autochthonous human cases and epizootics of non-human primates (NHPs) that were spatiotemporally evaluated. We used kriging to obtain maps with isochrones representative of the evolution of the outbreak and characterized its diffusion pattern.

Assessing Diversity, Infection and Blood Meal Sources in Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) from a Brazilian Zoological Park with Avian Malaria Transmission.

Avian malaria parasites are widespread parasites transmitted by Culicidae insects belonging to different genera. Even though several studies have been conducted recently, there is still a lack of information about potential vectors of parasites, especially in Neotropical regions. Former studies with free-living and captive animals in São Paulo Zoo showed the presence of several and species.

Implications of domestic dogs in the epidemiology of Rickettsia parkeri strain Atlantic rainforest and Rangelia vitalii in Southeastern Brazil.

This study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of diseases transmitted by Amblyomma ovale in 61 dogs monitored for three years through collections of ticks and blood, interviews, telemetry and camera traps in three areas of Serra do Mar State Park, Brazil. Blood samples were used to investigate infection by Rangelia vitalii by real-time TaqMan PCR and Rickettsia parkeri by IIFA. The collected ticks were submitted to conventional PCR to investigate the presence of R.

A human case of spotted fever caused by Rickettsia parkeri strain Atlantic rainforest and its association to the tick Amblyomma ovale.

Background: Rickettsia parkeri strain Atlantic rainforest has emerged in Brazil during the last 10 years, with three laboratory-confirmed human cases. While these cases were epidemiologically associated with the tick Amblyomma ovale, in none of them the tick specimens that bit the patients could be identified.

Results: We report a clinical case of spotted fever rickettsiosis that was acquired in an Atlantic forest area in Bahia state, northeast Brazil.

A high gene flow in populations of Amblyomma ovale ticks found in distinct fragments of Brazilian Atlantic rainforest.

The genetic structure of populations of the tick Amblyomma ovale from five distinct areas of the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest was evaluated via DNA sequencing and associated with the presence of domestic dogs acting as hosts at the edge of forest fragments. Ticks were collected from domestic dogs and from the environment between 2015 and 2017. Four collection areas were located in the surroundings and within the Serra do Mar State Park, São Paulo State (23°37'21"S, 45°24'43"W), where dogs were bimonthly monitored along 2 years using camera traps and GSM trackers.

Experimental infection of Rickettsia parkeri in the Rhipicephalus microplus tick.

This study aimed to evaluate, by means of artificial feeding, the interaction between a pathogenic rickettsia and the hard tick R. microplus. We used partially engorged females fed on calves free of Rickettsia spp.

Description of a new soft tick species (Acari: Argasidae: Ornithodoros) associated with stream-breeding frogs (Anura: Cycloramphidae: Cycloramphus) in Brazil.

In this study, we present a morphological description of immature and adult specimens of Ornithodoros saraivai n. sp., a tick associated with the frog Cycloramphus boraceiensis (Cycloramphidae) at São Sebastião island, located in the São Paulo state seaboard, Brazil.

Association of the occurrence of Brazilian spotted fever and Atlantic rain forest fragmentation in the São Paulo metropolitan region, Brazil.

Brazilian Spotted Fever (BSF) is a zoonotic disease caused by the bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii. In the São Paulo Metropolitan Region (SPMR) it is transmitted by Amblyomma aureolatum ticks. In this region, annual lethality of the disease can reach 80% and spatial occurrence depends on environmental factors and more particularly on the presence and interaction of domestic and wild carnivores as well as the presence and characteristics of the remnant Atlantic Rain Forest patches.

Novel Rickettsia raoultii strain isolated and propagated from Austrian Dermacentor reticulatus ticks.

Background: Continuous culture of tick cell lines has proven a valuable asset in isolating and propagating several different vector-borne pathogens, making it possible to study these microorganisms under laboratory conditions and develop serological tests to benefit public health. We describe a method for effective, cost- and labor-efficient isolation and propagation of Rickettsia raoultii using generally available laboratory equipment and Rhipicephalus microplus cells, further demonstrating the usefulness of continuous tick cell lines. R.

Characterization of Genetic Variability and Population Structure of the Tick Amblyomma aureolatum (Acari: Ixodidae).

The hard tick Amblyomma aureolatum (Pallas) is a vector of the bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii, the etiologic agent of Brazilian spotted fever (BSF) in parts of Brazil. Despite its wide distribution in southeastern South America and its public health importance, there is no information about genetic variation of this species that might help to understand the epidemiology of BSF. Using data from eight microsatellite markers and ticks from six localities, we used a population genetics approach to test the hypothesis that tick populations from areas with the presence of R.

High Seroprevalence for Rickettsia rickettsii in Equines Suggests Risk of Human Infection in Silent Areas for the Brazilian Spotted Fever.

Equines play a role in the epidemiology of Brazilian spotted fever (BSF) since they are a primary host for the tick Amblyomma sculptum. We studied the seroprevalence for three species of Rickettsia in equines in four endemic (with human cases) and in four non-endemic areas (no human cases) in the Piracicaba River Basin, São Paulo, Brazil. A serological survey of 504 equines was performed: around 63 animals were sampled in each area and tested through indirect immunofluorescence assay for R.