Borrelia, Coxiella, and Rickettsia in Carios capensis (Acari: Argasidae) from a brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) rookery in South Carolina, USA

Abstract

Argasid ticks are vectors of viral and bacterial agents of humans and animals. Carios capensis, a tick of seabirds, infests the nests of brown pelicans, Pelecanus occidentalis, and other ground nesting birds along the coast of South Carolina. This tick is associated with pelican nest abandonment and could pose a threat to humans visiting pelican rookeries if visitors are exposed to ticks harboring infectious agents. We collected ticks from a pelican rookery on Deveaux Bank, South Carolina and screened 64 individual ticks, six pools of larvae, and an egg mass for DNA from Bartonella, Borrelia, Coxiella, and Rickettsia by polymerase chain reaction amplification and sequencing. Ticks harbored DNA from "Borrelia lonestari", a novel Coxiella sp., and three species of Rickettsia, including Rickettsia felis and two undescribed Rickettsia spp. DNA from the Coxiella and two undescribed Rickettsia were detected in unfed larvae that emerged in the laboratory, which implies these agents are transmitted vertically by female ticks. We partially characterize the novel Coxiella by molecular means.

Investigação sorológica de Rickettsia rickettsii e Coxiella burnetii em caprinos e ovinos no entorno do Parque Nacional da Serra das Confusões, Piauí

“…Para tanto, lâminas contendo antígenos específicos de R. rickettsii (cepa Taiaçu) e C. burnetii foram produzidas no laboratório de Doenças Parasitárias da Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária da Universidade de São Paulo -FMVZ/USP. A técnica foi realizada de acordo com protocolo descrito por Horta et al (2004) para detecção de anticorpos anti-R. rickettsii e de acordo Reeves et al (2006) para detecção de anticorpos anti-C. burnetii. Assim, alí-quotas de soro foram diluídas a partir de 1:64 em PBS (0,1M, pH 7,2) e depositadas sobre lâminas contendo os referidos antíge-nos.…”

Molecular Detection of Rickettsia felis in Different Flea Species from Caldas, Colombia

“…2 Despite reports of infection in almost 12 different species of fleas, 8 species of ticks, mites, and lice, the cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis felis) is currently the only arthropod associated with the biological transmission of this agent. 3,4 R. felis has been identified in fleas and other arthropods from different countries in the Americas, including Argentina, 5 Brazil, [6][7][8][9][10][11] Canada, 12 Chile, 13 Costa Rica, 14 Mexico, 15 Panama, 16 Peru, 17 the United States, [18][19][20][21][22] and Uruguay. 23 The northern aspect of Caldas Province, Colombia, is an area that historically reports murine typhus cases to the public health authorities.…”

Cyclic Avian Mass Mortality in the Northeastern United States Is Associated with a Novel Orthomyxovirus

“…The near circumpolar distribution of the common eider suggests that WFBV is either aberrantly vectored (in relation to other quaranjaviruses) by a hard tick species or vectored by a soft tick clandestinely inhabiting Massachusetts and/or other northern regions. However, since QRFV has also been recovered from hard ticks (27), combined with the lack of any records of sea bird-associated soft ticks being present in New England and Canada (78), this suggests that WFBV may be transmitted in nature by a hard tick species such as Ixodes uriae, which is a common parasite of colonial nesting seabirds (including common eiders) in the northeastern United States (79) and a demonstrated vector of numerous arboviruses (80)(81)(82). However, alternative (or additional) means of transmission, such as aerosol, fecal-oral, water-based, or other arthropod-borne (e.g., insect) routes, cannot be ruled out and should be investigated.…”