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Rangelia vitalii infection in a dog from São Paulo city, Brazil: case report
2019
Bruna Regina Figura da Silva | Marcelo Bahia Labruna | Arlei Marcili | Caio Rodrigues dos Santos | Bárbara Buff Blumer Bastos | Jessica Tainá Bordin | Jonas Moraes-Filho
Canine rangeliosis is an extravascular hemolytic disease caused by the protozoan Rangelia vitalii, which is transmitted by ticks of the species Amblyomma aureolatum. Te most common clinical signs are apathy, hyperthermia and spontaneous bleeding. Anemia and thrombocytopenia are the most common hematological fndings. Tis work reports a clinical case of canine Rangeliosis treated at a private veterinary hospital, in São Paulo city in 2017. A dog was treated at a veterinary hospital in the north of São Paulo, with progressive weight loss, apathy and tail injury. Anemia and thrombocytopenia were observed on the hemogram. Rangelia vitalii DNA was detected in animal blood by real-time PCR (qPCR). In addition to the supportive treatment, doxycycline and subcutaneous imidocarb applications were used. Te sample collected afer treatment with the antibiotic continued to present protozoal DNA. Te disease should be considered as a diferential diagnosis and there is a great need for further studies about the therapy used.
Show more [+] Less [-]Serological survey of Rickettsia in equids from Vale do Paraíba, São Paulo, Brazil, and their tick identification and molecular investigation of Rickettsia
2019
Claudia Iorio Budweg | Amanda Oliveira de Sousa | Tânia Regina Vieira de Carvalho | Zahi Êni Santos Souza | Maria Carolina de Azevedo Serpa | Thiago Fernandes Martins | Fernanda Nieri-Bastos | Arlei Marcili | Marcelo Bahia Labruna | Jonas Moraes-Filho
Brazilian spotted fever is a serious and lethal illness for humans and is caused by the Rickettsia rickettsii bacteria. In the state of São Paulo/SP (Brazil), the etiological agent of this disease is transmitted by the Amblyomma sculptum tick. It was already shown that horses infected with this bacteria produce a strong immune response and could be important sentinels for the detection of the disease in a proper region. The present investigation performed a serological survey in horses from five farms of Vale do Paraíba, São Paulo state, Brazil, searching for antibodies against, Rickettsia rickettsii, Rickettsia parkeri, Rickettsia amblyommatis, Rickettsia rhipicephali, and Rickettsia bellii. In each farm, ticks were also collected that were taxonomically identified and examined by real-time PCR for Rickettsia spp DNA. Blood samples were collected from 206 horses, and 334 ticks were picked up from these animals from January to December 2017. Eighty ticks wereA. sculptum and 254 Dermacentor nitens. Of the blood samples, 7.3% seroconverted to Rickettsia spp. Of these, 0.97% had a positive serological response to R. bellii. None of the 80 A. sculptum ticks were positive through real-time PCR for Rickettsia spp. Although there was no detection of ticks infected by Rickettsia spp in five farms of Paraíba Valley, the horses presented serological positive reactions against this agent. Thus, further large studies should be conducted in the area targeting hosts and vectors to generate data for control measures of the transmission of Brazilian spotted fever.
Show more [+] Less [-]Removal of Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) population as measure to control Amblyomma tick population and reduce Brazilian Spotted Fever transmission risk in a Gated Community in Bragança Paulista (SP, Brazil) – Case Study
2019
Adriana Akemi Kuniy | Ciro Antônio Dias | Celso de Souza | Francisco Conrado de Mendonça Uchoa | Thaís Guimarães Luiz | Monicque Silva Pereira | Débora Bonilha Vasquez | Marcello Schiavo Nardi | Priscila Machion Leonis | Vitor Arruda | Sóstenes Pelegrini | Harley Sebastião da Silva | Leandro Godoy | Thiago Macek Gonçalves Zahn
This study reports the factors which led a gated community located in Bragança Paulista (SP, Brazil), a non-endemic area for Brazilian Spotted Fever (BSF), to be classified as a Risk Area for transmission of this disease, showing that an increasing resident population of capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) in the area was likely responsible for a proliferation of Amblyomma sculptum ticks and acted as an amplifying host for Rickettsia rickettsii, the main etiologic agent of BSF. We report management actions proposed to control the local tick burden and reduce BSF risk, including measures to control parasitic and free-living tick populations and exclusion of the resident capybara population. Analyses of tick population data and R. rickettsii serology tests indicate that these measures were effective, greatly reducing the environmental burden of Amblyomma sculptum ticks and reducing the BSF transmission risk at the area.
Show more [+] Less [-]Seasonal activity of ticks infesting domestic dogs in Bejaia province, Northern Algeria
2019
Kebbi, Rosa(University of Bejaia Faculty of Nature and Life Sciences Department of Environment Biological Sciences) | Nait-Mouloud, Mohamed(University of Bejaia Faculty of Nature and Life Sciences Department of Environment Biological Sciences) | Hassissen, Lila | Ayad, Abdelhanine(University of Bejaia Faculty of Nature and Life Sciences Department of Environment Biological Sciences)
This epidemiological study aimed to determine the species of tick infestation in dogs, their prevalence and dynamic in the Bejaia province, northeastern Algeria. A total of 631 dogs were examined from different localities of the Bejaia province between March 2016 and February 2017. Of the 631 examined dogs, 15% were infested with one or more tick species. A total of 339 adult ticks were collected and identified, including 199 male tick species and 140 female tick species. Our results revealed that most of these were Rhipicephalus species, with Rhipicephalus sanguineus (51.32%) being the most prevalent followed by Rhipicephalus bursa (35.1%) and Rhipicephalus turanicus (12.98%). Ixodes ricinus represented only 0.6% of all ticks collected. The highest infested seasons were spring (22.55%) and summer (22.54%) and the lowest infested seasons were autumn (8.62%) and winter ( 0.9%). There is no significant difference between the sex of the animal and the prevalence of infestation (p = 0.837). Also, the prevalence of infestation by ticks in young animals was higher than that in adult animals (p = 0.550). A significant difference between the prevalence of infestation and animal breed was observed (p = 0.042). This study is the first epidemiological investigation conducted on the prevalence of hard ticks infesting domestic dogs in Bejaia (northeastern Algeria) based on conventional methods. It is therefore necessary to implement an effective tick control strategy during infestation periods in order to prevent vector-borne diseases.
Show more [+] Less [-]Risk of establishment of canine leishmaniasis infection through the import of dogs into South Africa
2019
Latif, Abdalla A.(University of KwaZulu-Natal School of Life Sciences) | Nkabinde, Bonginkosi | Peba, Brian | Matthee, Olivier | Pienaar, Ronel | Josemans, Antoinette | Marumo, Daniel | Labuschagne, Karien | Abdelatif, Nada A. | Krüger, Andreas(Bundeswehr Hospital Department of Tropical Medicine) | Mans, Ben J.(University of South Africa College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Department of Life and Consumer Sciences,University of Pretoria Faculty of Veterinary Sciences Department of Tropical Veterinary Diseases)
Canine leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania that affect dogs, humans and wildlife. Sandflies of the genera Phlebotomus and Lutzomyia are the primary vectors. Canine leishmaniasis is an exotic and controlled disease in South Africa. The main purpose of our risk assessment study was to evaluate the likelihood that this exotic disease could enter and be established in South Africa through importation of live dogs. Risk analysis to the spread of the disease follows the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) formal method of quantitative risk assessment documented as a step-by-step process. We have identified and discussed 11 possible risk factors involved in three steps for final assessment. The annual average number of diagnostic tests performed on imported dogs from 44 countries for 2011-2015 was 1158. Leishmania is reported to occur in 21/44 (47.7%) exporting countries. A total of 71.1% of Leishmania positive dogs were imported from these endemic countries. The yearly percentage of Leishmania positive dogs ranged from 0.2% to 2%. Three confirmed clinical and fatal cases of leishmaniasis in dogs of unidentified origin have been reported by our laboratory and the state veterinarians. The disease has been reported in neighbouring countries as well as the putative sandfly vectors. This study concluded that the risk for the introduction and degree of uncertainty of Leishmania in imported dogs in South Africa are moderate. Risk mitigation and recommendations such as investigations into possible occurrence of autochthonous leishmaniasis in the country, surveillance in its wildlife reservoirs and systematic surveillance of sandfly populations are discussed.
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