Survey of ticks and tick-borne agents in maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus) from a natural landscape in Brazil

This study evaluated ticks and tick-borne agents in 104 captures of the maned wolf Chrysocyon brachyurus(50 different individuals and 54 recaptures) in the Serra da Canastra National Park (SCNP), a Cerrado preserved area in southeastern Brazil, from 2005 to 2012. From the 104 capture events, a total of 1,206 ticks were collected on 94 occasions (90.4 %), and identified into five species: Amblyomma tigrinum(77.3 % of all collected ticks), Amblyomma sculptum(16.6 %), Amblyomma ovale(0.1 %), Amblyomma brasiliense(0.1 %), Rhipicephalus microplus(0.1 %), and Amblyommaspp. larvae (5.8 %). Molecular analyses of A. tigrinumadult ticks revealed the presence of ‘CandidatusRickettsia andeanae’, Rickettsia parkerisensu stricto, two different haplotypes of ‘Ca.Midichloria sp.’, and a Hepatozoon canishaplotype. Molecular analyses of maned wolf blood samples revealed two distinct haplotypes of Hepatozoonspp., one identical to the H. canisgenotype that was detected in the A. tigrinumticks, and a Hepatozoon americanum-like haplotype. None tick or blood samples yielded amplicons through PCR assays targeting the genera Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, Babesia, Rangelia, Cytauxzoon, and Theileria. Maned wolf serum samples were tested by immunofluorescence assay against antigens of five Rickettsiaspecies (R. parkeri, R. rickettsii, R. amblyommatis, R. rhipicephali, and R. bellii) and Ehrlichia canis.Among 78 serum samples (45 captures plus 33 recaptures), 74 (95 %) were reactive to at least one Rickettsiaspecies, with R. parkerieliciting the highest endpoint titers. Some maned wolves that were recaptured during the study were shown to seroconvert to R. parkeri.Serum-reactiveness to E. caniswas detected in 36 % (16/45) maned wolves. During the study, general clinical signs of tick-borne diseases were not found in any of the captured animals, indicating that they were under a good health status in the SCNP, despite of been exposed to ticks (mostly A. tigrinum) and some tick-borne agents (Rickettsia, Hepatozoon, Ehrlichia). The results of the present study might represent baseline data for the conservation of the maned wolf in its natural habitat, which should be used to interpret further studies about ticks and tick-borne diseases in maned wolves within human-modified landscapes.