Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) as ectoparasites of Brazilian wild birds and their association with rickettsial diseases

Abstract

Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) are obligatory hematophagous ectoparasites of a variety of vertebrate hosts and play an important role in the transmission and ecology of infectious pathogens causing diseases in humans and animals worldwide. Sixty-eight species of ticks exist in Brazil, and at least 23 are found parasitizing wild birds. This number is increasing with the advent of new studies highlighting the underestimated role of birds in the life cycle of these arthropods. In South America, many of these ticks are involved in epidemiology of the life-threatening spotted fever diseases caused by bacteria from the genus Rickettsia (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae). The aim of this paper is to present up-to-date knowledge about the bird-tick fauna of Brazil and their association with rickettsioses. The available literature concerning ticks on birds and tick-borne diseases related to these ticks in Brazil has been revised. It could be concluded that birds play a primary role in life cycles of various tick species, especially during immature stages (larvae and nymphs). The best known is a bird-tick fauna from the Atlantic Forest and from Brazilian savannah called Cerrado in southern and central Brazil, respectively. On the other hand, the knowledge about bird tick parasitism from other Brazilian biomes such as the Amazon, Caatinga, Pantanal and Pampas regions is very scarce and requires further study. Moreover, no studies about the role of birds as mobile hosts for spreading ticks to new areas exist, nor has their role in the natural life cycle of Rickettsia been thoroughly examined.Keywords: Ticks. Ectoparasites. Rickettsia. Disease. Birds. Brazil. ResumoOs carrapatos (Acari: Ixodoidea) são ectoparasitas obrigatórias de uma variedade de hospedeiros vertebrados e têm um papel importante na ecologia e transmissão de diversos patógenos causadores de doenças em humanos e animais no mundo todo. No Brasil existem 68 espécies de carrapatos e pelo menos 23 espécies são encontradas parasitando aves silvestres. Esse número tem crescido com o advento de novos estudos ressaltando o papel das aves nos ciclos de vida desses artrópodes. Na América do Sul alguns desses carrapatos estão envolvidos na epidemiologia de doenças graves para o ser humano, como a febre maculosa, causada por bactérias do gênero Rickettsia (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae). O alvo desse artigo é apresentar o estado atual de conhecimento sobre a fauna de carrapatos encontrados em aves no Brasil e as associações estabelecidas com as riquetsioses. A literatura disponível sobre carrapatos em aves e ocorrência de riquétsias foi revisada e pôde ser concluído que aves têm um papel importante nos ciclos de vida de várias espécies de carrapatos, sendo especialmente importantes para os estágios imaturos (larvas e ninfas). A maior parte do conhecimento sabrecai na fauna de carrapatos de aves dos biomas Mata Atlântica e Cerrado no sudeste e centro-oeste do Brasil. Já o conhecimento sobre o parasitismo por carrapatos em aves dos outros biomas: Amazônia, Caatinga, Pantanal...

Ticks and tick-associated spotted fever group Rickettsia from birds in the southwestern Brazilian Amazon

“…Adults of A. longirostre feed primarily on porcupines (Rodentia, Erethizontidae), whereas adults of A. nodosum are commonly found on anteaters, Myrmecophaga tridactyla Linnaeus, 1758 and Tamandua spp (Guglielmone et al, 2014). Larvae and nymphs of these two tick species seem to feed primarily on birds (reviewed by Luz and Faccini, 2013;Ogrzewalska and Pinter, 2016), an ecological association reinforced by results of the present study. These species were also found migrating to the North.…”

Hemoparasites in ticks of wild birds of Serra dos Órgãos National Park, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

“…In total, 33 birds were captured, representing three orders, seven families, and 20 species, of which 14 (42%) of 9 species (45%) were parasitized by 22 immature forms of Amblyomma spp. Birds of the order Passeriformes were the most frequent, with 27 (82%) specimens captured, divided into 5 families and 15 species, corroborating with the data published in previous literature (LUZ & FACCINI, 2013;OGRZEWALSKA & PINTER, 2016). No ticks were recorded on the following bird species: Passeriformes -Myiozetetes similis, Coereba flaveola, Sicalis flaveola, Tangara cayana, Tangara sayaca, Troglodytes musculus; Columbiformes -Leptotila rufaxilla, Geotrygon montana, Columbina talpacoti; Cuculiformes -Piaya cayana.…”

“…No ticks were recorded on the following bird species: Passeriformes -Myiozetetes similis, Coereba flaveola, Sicalis flaveola, Tangara cayana, Tangara sayaca, Troglodytes musculus; Columbiformes -Leptotila rufaxilla, Geotrygon montana, Columbina talpacoti; Cuculiformes -Piaya cayana. However, there are numerous records of these species in association with ticks in different biomes in Brazil (LABRUNA et al, 2007;LUGARINI et al, 2015;LUZ et al, 2016;OGRZEWALSKA & PINTER, 2016).…”

Detection of rickettsiae in fleas and ticks from areas of Costa Rica with history of spotted fever group rickettsioses

“…amblyommii' have been detected in this tick species (Ogrzewalska et al, 2012;Lugarini et al, 2015;Ogrzewalska and Pinter, 2016). Adults of A. varium are ectoparasites of the mammal families Bradypodidae and Megalonychidae (Xenarthra), and vertebrate hosts of immature stages can include birds but have not been well characterized (Ogrzewalska and Pinter, 2016).…”