title: Rickettsia (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae) Vector Biodiversity in High Altitude Atlantic Forest Fragments Within a Semiarid Climate: A New Endemic Area of Spotted-Fever in Brazil.
abstract: Rickettsioses are re-emerging vector-borne zoonoses with a global distribution. Recently, Rickettsia sp. strain Atlantic rainforest has been associated with new human spotted-fever (SF) cases in Brazil, featuring particular clinical signs: eschar formation and lymphadenopathy. These cases have been associated with the tick species, Amblyomma ovale From 2010 until 2015, the Brazilian Health Department confirmed 11 human SF cases in the Maciço de Baturité region, Ceará, Brazil. The present study reports the circulation of Rickettsia spp. in vectors from this entirely new endemic area for SF. A total of 1,727 ectoparasites were collected in this area from the environment, humans, and wild and domestic animals. Samples (n = 887) were screened by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), targeting the gltA and ompA rickettsial genes. Sequencing and phylogenetic analyses of gltA gene amplicons were carried out for 13 samples positive for both screening PCRs. Fragments of gltA and ompA from three samples were cloned, sequenced, and analyzed further. A. ovale and Rhipicephalus sanguineus specimens, collected from dogs, were found to be infected with Rickettsia sp. str. Atlantic rainforest, suggesting the importance of dogs in the epidemic cycle. Candidatus Rickettsia andeanae, Rickettsia felis, and Rickettsia bellii were also found infecting ticks and fleas in five municipalities, demonstrating the broad diversity of rickettsiae in circulation in the studied area. This study reports, for the first time, evidence of infection with Rickettsia sp. strain Atlantic rainforest in A. ovale and R. sanguineus in Ceará, and Ca. R. andeanae in an Atlantic rainforest environment of Brazil.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade e Saúde IOC/FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (leomoreira_vet@hotmail.com; gsgazeta@ioc.fiocruz.br).|Laboratório Referência Nacional em Vetores das Riquetsioses IOC/FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (viniciusfv@gmail.com; mamorim@ioc.fiocruz.br).
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Moerbeck
authors.affiliation: Laboratório Referência Nacional em Vetores das Riquetsioses IOC/FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (viniciusfv@gmail.com; mamorim@ioc.fiocruz.br).|Dept. Genética, Inst. Biologia, Laboratório de Genética Molecular de Eucariontes e Simbiontes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (erikmafer@gmail.com; soares@biologia.ufrj.br).
authors.forename: Vinícius F
authors.initials: VF
authors.lastname: Vizzoni
authors.affiliation: Dept. Genética, Inst. Biologia, Laboratório de Genética Molecular de Eucariontes e Simbiontes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (erikmafer@gmail.com; soares@biologia.ufrj.br).
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Machado-Ferreira
authors.affiliation: Secretaria Estadual de Saúde do Estado do Ceará, Baturité, Brazil (robsonccavalcante@yahoo.com.br).
authors.forename: Robson C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Cavalcante
authors.affiliation: Ministério da Saúde, Brasília, Brazil (stefan.oliveira@saude.gov.br).
authors.forename: Stefan V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Dept. Genética, Inst. Biologia, Laboratório de Genética Molecular de Eucariontes e Simbiontes, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (erikmafer@gmail.com; soares@biologia.ufrj.br).
authors.forename: Carlos A G
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Soares
authors.affiliation: Laboratório Referência Nacional em Vetores das Riquetsioses IOC/FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (viniciusfv@gmail.com; mamorim@ioc.fiocruz.br).
authors.forename: Marinete
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Amorim
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade e Saúde IOC/FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (leomoreira_vet@hotmail.com; gsgazeta@ioc.fiocruz.br) gsgazeta@fiocruz.br.|Laboratório Referência Nacional em Vetores das Riquetsioses IOC/FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (viniciusfv@gmail.com; mamorim@ioc.fiocruz.br).
authors.forename: Gilberto S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Gazêta
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001096:Arachnid Vectors / Q000382:microbiology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D044822:Biodiversity; D001938:Brazil; D002980:Climate; D065928:Forests; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000382:microbiology*; D026863:Ixodidae / Q000382:microbiology*; D008925:Mites / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology; D008003:Phthiraptera / Q000382:microbiology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D005423:Siphonaptera / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins
keywords: disease; rickettsiae; spotted-fever; tick; vector-borne