Ectoparasites ofDidelphis virginianaFrom Yucatan, Mexico

Abstract

A faunal study is presented to determine the species of ectoparasites found in the opossum Didelphis virginiana (Kerr) (Marsupialia: Didelphidae). For this, Tomahawk traps were placed in the peridomiciles of a rural town in Yucatán, to capture individuals of this marsupial and proceed to the collection of their ectoparasites. A total of 3,023 arthropods were collected from 145 opossums. The most frequent ectoparasites were the acarines Ornithodoros (Alectorobius) nr. talaje (64.8%) (Argasidae); Ornithonyssus wernecki Fonseca (53.8%) (Macronyssidae) and Didelphilicus serrifer Fain (25.5%) (Atopomelidae); the ticks Amblyomma parvum Aragão (8.3%) and A. mixtum Koch (10.3%) (Ixodidae); and the fleas Ctenocephalides felis (Bouché) (20.7%) and Pulex simulans Baker (8.3%) (Pulicidae). It is concluded that the ectoparasite fauna of this marsupial is mainly composed of euryxenous organisms, which have been documented as vectors of diseases caused by rickettsial bacteria. Since D. virginiana is widely adapted to the peridomiciliary environment in the region, this study allows recognizing those that represent a potential risk for the transmission of vector-borne zoonotic diseases.

Epidemiological Study of the Occurrence of Typhus Group Rickettsia Natural Infection in Domiciliated Dogs from a Rural Community in South-Eastern Mexico

“…Regarding that, extensive roaming behavior is a factor that modifies the risk for rickettsial infection [ 45 , 46 , 47 ]. In this context, female dogs could be spending more time in the peridomicile area, where exposure to flea vectors is frequent, as evidenced by the infestation levels of other hosts of C. felis and murine typhus, such as synanthropic opossums and small rodents in several localities of Yucatan [ 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 ]. However, the dynamics among flea-dog interactions in the peridomiciles of households should be addressed in future studies to obtain further information about the peridomicile cycles of the TG Rickettsia .…”

La garrapata Amblyomma parvum como vector potencial de patógenos en animales y seres humanos

“…En México, se ha reportado en Campeche, Chiapas, Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacán, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Tabasco, Tamaulipas y Yucatán. Se ha reportado parasitando varias especies animales, e incluso al ser humano (Figura 2) (Guzmán-Cornejo et al 2011;Vargas et al 2014;Rodríguez et al 2016;Guglielmone y Robbins, 2018;Canto et al 2020).…”

“…En México, A. parvum ha sido reportada en perros, gatos, zopilotes (Coragyps atratus), venados cola blanca (Odocoileus virginianus), ratones comunes (Mus musculus), caballos, panteras (Panthera onca), zarigüeyas (Didelphis virginiana), armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus), así como en humanos (Guzmán-Cornejo et al 2011;Rodríguez Vivas et al 2016). En Yucatán, parasita 8.3% de zarigüeyas (D. virginiana), 0.3% de perros y 18.6% de venados cola blanca (Ojeda-Chi et al 2018Canto-Osorio et al 2020). Las hembras adultas de A. parvum en bovinos y caprinos tienen preferencia por la cara y la oreja (Guglielmone et al 2006).…”

Didelphis spp. opossums and their parasites in the Americas: A One Health perspective

“…Opossums harbor a great diversity of flea species (Horta et al 2007;Pinto et al 2009;Urdapilleta et al 2019;Bezerra-Santos et al 2020b;Canto-Osorio et al 2020), with some of them being regarded as important vectors of zoonotic pathogens (e.g., Ctenocephalides felis felis, Xenopsylla cheopis, Pulex irritans and Pulex simulans), while others (e.g., Adoratopsylla antiquorum, Polygenis occidentalis and Cediopsylla simplex) presenting unknown vector role as studies on their ecology and epidemiology are scanty (Table 2). Among the pathogens transmitted by fleas reported on Didelphis spp., R. typhi, R. felis and Y. pestis are of major public health concern (Azad et al 1997;Demeure et al 2019;Oliveira et al 2020).…”