title: Distribution of Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiae in Hard Ticks (Ixodida: Ixodidae) from Panamanian Urban and Rural Environments (2007-2013).
abstract: Tick-borne rickettsiosis is an important emerging disease in Panama; to date, there have been 12 confirmed cases, including eight fatalities. To evaluate the distribution of rickettsiae in Panamanian ticks, we collected questing and on-host ticks in urban and rural towns in elevations varying between 0 and 2300 m. A total of 63 sites (13 urban and 50 rural towns) were used to develop models of spatial distributions. We found the following tick species: Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. (present in 54 of 63 towns and cities), Amblyomma mixtum (45/63), Dermacentor nitens (40/63), A. ovale (37/63), Rhipicephalus microplus (33/63), A. oblongoguttatum (33/63), Ixodes affinis (3/63), and Ixodes boliviensis (2/63). Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. was present in urban and rural towns, and other species were present only in rural towns. DNA was extracted from 408 R. sanguineus s.l., 387 A. mixtum, 103 A. ovale, and 11 A. oblongoguttatum and later tested for rickettsiae genes using PCR. Rickettsia DNA was detected in ticks from 21 of 63 localities. Rickettsia rickettsii was detected in five A. mixtum (1.29%), and Candidatus "Rickettsia amblyommii" was found in 138 A. mixtum (35%), 14 R. sanguineus (3.4%), and one A. ovale (0.9%). These results suggest that much of rural Panama is suitable for the expansion of tick populations and could favor the appearance of new tick-borne rickettsiosis outbreaks.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas de Estudios de la Salud, Panama, Panama. bermudezsec@gmail.com.|Grupo de Estudios con Ectoparásitos, Panama, Panama. bermudezsec@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Sergio E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Bermúdez
authors.affiliation: Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas de Estudios de la Salud, Panama, Panama.
authors.forename: Angélica M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Estudios con Ectoparásitos, Panama, Panama.|Instituto de Medicina Legal y Ciencias Forenses, Panama, Panama.
authors.forename: Diomedes
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Trejos
authors.affiliation: Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas de Estudios de la Salud, Panama, Panama.
authors.forename: Gleydis G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: García
authors.affiliation: Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas de Estudios de la Salud, Panama, Panama.
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gabster
authors.affiliation: Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas de Estudios de la Salud, Panama, Panama.
authors.forename: Roberto J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Miranda
authors.affiliation: Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas de Estudios de la Salud, Panama, Panama.
authors.forename: Yamitzel
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zaldívar
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Estudios con Ectoparásitos, Panama, Panama.|Grupo BIOGEM, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.|Grupo Centauro, Universidad de Antioquia, Antioquia, Colombia.|Grupo de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad de Sucre, Sincelejo, Colombia.
authors.forename: Luis E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Paternina
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D026863:Ixodidae; D010176:Panama; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012282:Rickettsia Infections; D012424:Rural Population; D013987:Ticks; D014505:Urban Population
keywords: Panama; Rickettsia spp.; ixodidae; molecular surveillance; spatial distribution model