title: Distribution of ixodid ticks on dogs in Nuevo León, Mexico, and their association with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato.
abstract: This study aimed to document the geographic distribution of Ixodes tick species in dogs and the prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. in adult ticks and blood samples by amplification of the ospA region of the B. burgdorferi genome. The study area included nine localities in Nuevo León state. DNA amplification was performed on pools of ticks to calculate the maximum likelihood estimation (MLE), and the community composition (prevalence, abundance, and intensity of infestation) was recorded. A total of 2,543 adult ticks, representing four species, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Dermacentor variabilis, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus, and Amblyomma cajennense, were recorded from 338 infested dogs. Statistically significant correlations were observed between female dogs and infestation (P = 0.0003) and between R. sanguineus and locality (P = 0.0001). Dogs sampled in Guadalupe and Estanzuela were positive by PCR (0.9 %) for B. burgdorferi. Rhipicephalus sanguineus had the highest abundance, intensity, and prevalence (10.57, 7.12 and 94.6, respectively). PCR results from 256 pools showed that four pools were positive for D. variabilis (1.6 %), with an MLE of 9.2 %; nevertheless, it is important to consider that in the area under examination probably other reservoir hosts for D. variabilis and B. burgdorferi are present that, very likely, play a much more important role in the ecology of Lyme borreliosis than dogs, which could be considered in future studies.
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas. Laboratorio de Patología Molecular y Experimental. Cd. Universitaria, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, 66451, San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo León, Mexico.
authors.forename: Lucio
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Galaviz-Silva
authors.forename: Karla Carmelita
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Pérez-Treviño
authors.forename: Zinnia J
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Molina-Garza
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001096:Arachnid Vectors / Q000382:microbiology; D025065:Borrelia burgdorferi / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D004285:Dogs / Q000469:parasitology*; D005260:Female; D026863:Ixodidae / Q000382:microbiology*; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000635:transmission; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000662:veterinary