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Ornithodoros cf. mimon infected with a spotted fever group Rickettsia in Brazil.
- Source :
-
Acta tropica [Acta Trop] 2022 Sep; Vol. 233, pp. 106541. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 May 24. - Publication Year :
- 2022
-
Abstract
- Ornithodoros mimon is an argasid tick primarily associated with bats that also infest other animals including birds, opossums and humans. In this paper, we report the finding of an argasid species resembling O. mimon, which similarly may be found in human dwellings and parasitize humans in Brazil. We also provide molecular evidence that this argasid tick species may carry a rickettsial organism, whose pathogenicity remains unknown. A total of 16 ticks (two females, two males and 12 nymphs) were collected in the bedroom and in the attic of a human house, where cases of "insect" bites have been recurrent. These ticks were identified morphologically and genetically as Ornithodoros cf. mimon. Upon PCR testing, four of these ticks (one female and three nymphs) were positive for human blood and for a bacterium closely related to "Candidatus Rickettsia paranaensis". In conclusion, we report for the first time in Brazil an argasid tick species morphologically and genetically related to O. mimon, which feeds on humans and carry a rickettsial organism belonging to the spotted fever group. Further studies are needed to formally assess the taxonomic status of this tick species and also to investigate the pathogenicity of its associated rickettsial organism.<br /> (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1873-6254
- Volume :
- 233
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Acta tropica
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 35623399
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actatropica.2022.106541