Brown Dog Tick ( Rhipicephalus sanguineus Sensu Lato) Infection with Endosymbiont and Human Pathogenic Rickettsia spp., in Northeastern México

Jordan Salomon, Nadia Angelica Fernandez Santos, Italo B. Zecca, Jose G. Estrada-Franco, Edward Davila, Gabriel L. Hamer, Mario Alberto Rodriguez Perez and Sarah A. Hamer
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Jordan Salomon: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Program, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-2475, USA
Nadia Angelica Fernandez Santos: Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro de Biotecnología Genómica, Reynosa 88710, Mexico
Italo B. Zecca: Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-2475, USA
Jose G. Estrada-Franco: Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro de Biotecnología Genómica, Reynosa 88710, Mexico
Edward Davila: Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-2475, USA
Gabriel L. Hamer: Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-2475, USA
Mario Alberto Rodriguez Perez: Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro de Biotecnología Genómica, Reynosa 88710, Mexico
Sarah A. Hamer: Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-2475, USA

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 10, 1-13

Abstract: Of the documented tick-borne diseases infecting humans in México, Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), caused by the Gram-negative bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii , is responsible for most fatalities. Given recent evidence of brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l., as an emerging vector of human RMSF, we aimed to evaluate dogs and their ticks for rickettsiae infections as an initial step in assessing the establishment of this pathosystem in a poorly studied region of northeastern México while evaluating the use of dogs as sentinels for transmission/human disease risk. We sampled owned dogs living in six disadvantaged neighborhoods of Reynosa, northeastern México to collect whole blood and ticks. Of 168 dogs assessed, tick infestation prevalence was 53%, composed of exclusively Rh. sanguineus s. l. ( n = 2170 ticks). Using PCR and sequencing, we identified an overall rickettsiae infection prevalence of 4.1% ( n = 12/292) in ticks, in which eight dogs harbored at least one infected tick. Rickettsiae infections included Rickettsia amblyommatis and Rickettsia parkeri , both of which are emerging human pathogens, as well as Candidatus Rickettsia andeanae. This is the first documentation of pathogenic Rickettsia species in Rh. sanguineus s.l. collected from dogs from northeastern México. Domestic dog infestation with Rickettsia -infected ticks indicates ongoing transmission; thus, humans are at risk for exposure, and this underscores the importance of public and veterinary health surveillance for these pathogens.

Keywords: Rickettsia parkeri; Rhipicephalus sanguineus; dogs; tick-borne disease; rickettsiosis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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