title: Ixodid fauna and zoonotic agents in ticks from dogs: first report of Rickettsia rickettsii in Rhipicephalus sanguineus in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, mid-western Brazil.
abstract: Ticks from 148 dogs from the urban area of the municipality of Campo Grande, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, were collected, classified and analyzed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the identification of Rickettsia spp., Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania spp. A total of 2015 ticks were collected. The species Rhipicephalus sanguineus (98.9 %) and Amblyomma cajennense (1.1 %) were identified. Molecular analysis revealed that no tick samples were infected by T. cruzi. Regarding Leishmania spp., tick samples from 36 dogs spread across all regions of the municipality were positive for L. chagasi. One tick sample was positive for Rickettsia spp. (gltA gene) in the PCR reaction. This sample was submitted to further PCR based on the ompA gene and the amplicon was sequenced. Identity of 100 % was found with homologous sequences of R. rickettsii available in GenBank. This paper is the first to report the natural infection of R. sanguineus by R. rickettsii in the municipality of Campo Grande, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, mid-western Brazil.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-graduação em Doenças Infecciosas e Parasitárias, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Robson Ferreira Cavalcante
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: de Almeida
authors.forename: Marcos Valério
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.forename: Rodrigo Casquero
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Cunha
authors.forename: Jaqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Matias
authors.forename: Elaine Araújo
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: e Silva
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Fatima Cepa Matos
authors.forename: Renato
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Andreotti
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001179:Arthropod Vectors / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D001938:Brazil; D004285:Dogs / Q000469:parasitology*; D005843:Geography; D007891:Leishmania / Q000302:isolation & purification; D048508:Rhipicephalus sanguineus / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D012284:Rickettsia rickettsii / Q000302:isolation & purification*