We report ectoparasites found on humans and wildlife from different locations in southeastern Brazil. Ectoparasites were stored in 70% alcohol and visually identified under a stereo microscope with the help of identification keys. Genomic DNA of ticks was extracted and used in the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) to detect the presence of tick-borne pathogens. Sixteen species of ectoparasites (six ticks, one lice, four fleas, four flies, and one bedbug) were identified on ten host species, including humans, other mammals, and birds. We report the first record of the parasitism of Amblyomma longirostre on Didelphis aurita, Microlynchia pussila on Turdus leucomelas, Ornithoica vicina and Ornithocoris pallidus on Psittacara leucophthalmus and O. pallidus on Homo sapiens. In addition, we also report the first record of O. vicina in the state of Minas Gerais and the infection by Rickettsia sp. in Amblyomma varium.
Ticks’ saliva presents immunomodulatory activity and cause several tissue changes at the attachment site on the host's skin. Here, we compare different moments of the skin of a Mangalarga Marchador mare before, during and after tick attachment. On the skin with a fixed tick, we observed inflammatory infiltrate, degranulated mast cells, areas with an absence of nucleus and presence of pyknotic nuclei, type I collagen bundles are quite thick around the tick's hypostome, fibrotic process, and the occurrence of cell death by necrosis. In the skin after the tick detached, we observed a complete loss of the structure of the extracellular matrix due to the formation of edema of the inflammatory exudate, a large presence of eosinophils and macrophages, new blood vessels, and dilated vessels, indicating that in the absence of immunomodulation promoted by tick saliva, the animal's organism can start the repair and healing process.
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