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

Abstract

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. parkeri . These data were compared with the monitoring results and interviews with the owners. Dogs considered as companion presented a risk of infection by R. parkeri strain Mata Atlantica 5.4 times higher than those not considered as companion (p = 0.009). Dogs that had at least one A. ovale collected during the campaigns had a 10 times higher risk of infection by R. parkeri strain Mata Atlantica than those who did not (p = 0.009). One dog positive for R. vitalii by real-time TaqMan PCR was parasitized by A. ovale frequently during monitoring. Sequenced ompaA - positive DNA samples had 100% identity of R. parkeri strain Mata Atlantica clone As106. From the findings, it is urgent to control domestic dogs around rainforests to reduce zoonoses transmission.

An unusual identification ofRickettsia parkeriin synanthropic rodents and domiciliated dogs of a rural community from Yucatán, Mexico

“…In domiciled dogs from Yucatan, the occurrence of different Rickettsia species has been described, including R. akari (TRG) (Zavala-Castro et al, 2009) et al, 2010), including R. parkeri (Fournier et al, 2020), an epidemiological aspect reinforced by the snPCR results of this study and by those previously obtained by Ojeda-Chi et al (2019). However, the participation of these domestic animals and their ectoparasites, mainly ticks of the Amblyomma genus, in the zoonotic horizontal transmission of R. parkeri as competent reservoirs requires future epidemiological investigations (Fournier et al, 2020;Grasperge, Wolfson, & Macaluso, 2012;Sabatini et al, 2010;Szabó et al, 2013). and A. parvum (Rodríguez-Vivas et al, 2016).…”

“…In this sense, it is accepted that members of the SFG, including R. parkeri, are naturally maintained by vertical and horizontal transmission among the arthropod vectors (ticks) and susceptible vertebrate hosts, respectively(Grasperge, Wolfson, & Macaluso, 2012;Rocha et al, 2022). Domestic dogs participate notably in the urban and rural transmission cycles of some Rickettsia species(Dzul-Rosado et al, 2021;Fournier et al, 2020;Torres-Castro et al, 2020;, therefore, they are one of the most studied mammal hosts in Mexico(Sánchez-Montes et al, 2021), es-…”

Epidemiology ofRickettsiaspp. in Atlantic rainforest areas of island and seashore mainland, southern Brazil

“…Thus, concomitant human and dog serological results have indicated mutual exposure to Rickettsia parkeri strain Atlantic rainforest infection in islands and seashore mainland, southern Brazil. Despite no reportedly amplifiers of R. parkeri strain Atlantic rainforest, dogs infested by A. ovale presented a 10‐fold higher risk of infection when compared to those not infested by A. ovale (da Silva Rocha Fournier et al., 2020).…”

“…Such findings corroborated with previous studies that have found association of seropositivity of SFG with dogs living nearby natural areas, unrestricted access to the natural areas and Amblyomma spp. tick parasitism (Barbieri et al., 2014; Costa et al., 2017; da Silva Rocha Fournier et al., 2020; Krawczak, Binder, et al., 2016). In addition, the largest fragment of Atlantic rainforest biome of Brazil has been located throughout islands and seashore mainland of Paraná State, which may contribute to Rickettsia spp.…”

Rickettsial pathogens circulating in urban districts of Rio de Janeiro, without report of human Brazilian Spotted Fever

“…Therefore, the presence of other suitable hosts may have contributed to the absence of this species in the sampled domestic dogs. It should be noted that the distribution data for A. ovale in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest biome suggests this species is more prevalent in the states of São Paulo, Bahia, and Paraná (Vieira et al, 2013;Nieri-Bastos et al, 2018;Fournier et al, 2020). Furthermore, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, studies have shown that the frequency of parasitism by A. ovale in dogs tends to be low or even zero (Santos et al, 2013;Cordeiro et al, 2015;Campos et al, 2020).…”