TY - JOUR
T1 - Brown Dog Tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus Sensu Lato) Infection with Endosymbiont and Human Pathogenic Rickettsia spp., in Northeastern México
AU - Salomon, Jordan
AU - Fernandez Santos, Nadia Angelica
AU - Zecca, Italo B.
AU - Estrada-Franco, Jose G.
AU - Davila, Edward
AU - Hamer, Gabriel L.
AU - Rodriguez Perez, Mario Alberto
AU - Hamer, Sarah A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2022/5/1
Y1 - 2022/5/1
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - Rhipicephalus sanguineus
KW - Rickettsia parkeri
KW - dogs
KW - rickettsiosis
KW - tick-borne disease
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85130289206&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph19106249
DO - 10.3390/ijerph19106249
M3 - Artículo
C2 - 35627785
AN - SCOPUS:85130289206
SN - 1661-7827
VL - 19
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
IS - 10
M1 - 6249
ER -