title: Ticks associated with armadillo (Euphractus sexcinctus) and anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) of Emas National Park, State of Goias, Brazil.
abstract: This study was conducted in October 1998 and November 1999 in the Emas National Park (131,868 ha), a savanna-type cerrado region situated in the far south of Goias State, Brazil, near the geographic center of South America (15 degrees -23 degrees S; 45 degrees -55 degrees W). Animals were captured with the aid of nets and anesthetized (15 mg/kg ketamine + 1 mg/kg xylasine) in order to collect ticks for identification and to establish laboratory colonies. They included giant anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) (n = 4) and yellow armadillos (Euphractus sexcinctus) (n = 6). Free-living ticks (larvae, nymphs, and adults) were collected from the field by using a 1 x 2-m flannel cloth. Free-living ticks were identified as Amblyomma sp., A. cajennense, and A. triste. Adult ticks collected from anteaters were identified as Amblyomma cajennense and A. nodosum and from armadillos as A. pseudoconcolor and A. nodosum. The relevance of these host-tick relationships to possible mechanisms underlying emergence of tick-borne pathogens of importance to public health is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, Universidade Estadual Paulista, 14.884-900 Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil. bechara@fcav.unesp.br
authors.forename: Gervasio H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Bechara
authors.forename: M P J
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Szabo
authors.forename: W V
authors.initials: WV
authors.lastname: Almeida Filho
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Bechara
authors.forename: R J G
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.forename: Marcelo C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Pereira
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D001135:Armadillos / Q000469:parasitology*; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D006801:Humans; D026863:Ixodidae / Q000145:classification*; D007814:Larva; D008297:Male; D009758:Nymph; D011634:Public Health; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D017282:Tick-Borne Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary; D004490:Xenarthra / Q000469:parasitology*