title: Spotted fever group Rickettsia infecting ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil.
abstract: During 2006-2008, a total of 260 adult ticks were collected from domestic and wild animals in different regions of the state of Santa Catarina (SC), Brazil, including areas where human cases of Brazilian spotted fever have been reported. Collected ticks belonging to nine species (Amblyomma aureolatum, Amblyomma cajennense, Amblyomma dubitatum, Amblyomma longirostre, Amblyomma ovale, Amblyomma tigrinum, Dermacentor nitens, Rhipicephalus microplus and Rhipicephalus sanguineus) were tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for rickettsial infection. Overall, eight (3.1%) ticks were found to be infected with Rickettsia species. After sequencing the PCR products, we determined that the sequences generated from three A. aureolatum, one A. ovale and one R. sanguineus from the municipality of Blumenau, one A. ovale from the municipality of Águas Mornas and one A. ovale from the municipality of Urussanga were identical to the corresponding partial rickettsial ompA gene sequence of Rickettsia parkeri strain Atlantic rainforest. The sequence generated from one A. longirostre from Blumenau was 100% identical to the corresponding partial rickettsial ompA gene sequence of Rickettsia amblyommii strain AL. Because R. parkeri strain Atlantic rainforest was recently shown to have caused two cases of human spotted fever in other states of Brazil, the role of this rickettsial agent as a possible etiological agent of spotted fever in SC is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Medicina Veterinária, Centro de Ciências Agroveterinárias, Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina, Lages, SC, Brasil.
authors.forename: Alessandra Pereira
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Medeiros
authors.forename: Antonio Pereira de
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Souza
authors.forename: Anderson Barbosa de
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Moura
authors.forename: Marcia Sangaletti
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Lavina
authors.forename: Valdomiro
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bellato
authors.forename: Amélia Aparecida
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Sartor
authors.forename: Fernanda Aparecida
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Nieri-Bastos
authors.forename: Leonardo José
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Richtzenhain
authors.forename: Marcelo Bahia
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Labruna
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic / Q000469:parasitology; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000469:parasitology; D001938:Brazil; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000382:microbiology*; D026863:Ixodidae / Q000382:microbiology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012373:Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever / Q000635:transmission