Vectorial competence of Amblyomma tonelliae to transmit Rickettsia rickettsii.
The aim of this work was to test the vectorial competence of Amblyomma tonelliae (Ixodida: Ixodidae) to transmit Rickettsia rickettsii (Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae), the agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF). All parasitic stages of A. tonelliae were exposed to R. rickettsii by allowing each stage to feed on hosts inoculated with this pathogen. Thereafter, ticks were fed on uninfected hosts. All stages of A. tonelliae were able to acquire the R. rickettsii infection and maintain it by transstadial and transovarial transmission. When infected ticks fed on uninfected hosts, the hosts developed rickettsiosis disease. This study demonstrates the vectorial competence of A. tonelliae to transmit R. rickettsii. These results have epidemiological relevance because A. tonelliae is one of the tick species most likely to infest humans in Argentina, including in areas in which RMSF has been reported.
Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Rafaela, Argentina. tarragona.evelina@inta.gob.ar.|Departamento de Parasitología, Extensión Salud en Animales Silvestres, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Santa Fe, Argentina. tarragona.evelina@inta.gob.ar.
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EL
Tarragona
Departamento Parasitologia e Doenças Parasitárias Veterinárias, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
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JF
Soares
Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva e Saúde Animal (VPS), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
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FB
Costa
Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva e Saúde Animal (VPS), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
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MB
Labruna
Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Rafaela, Argentina.
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S
Nava
D000818:Animals; D001096:Arachnid Vectors / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology*; D001118:Argentina; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D026863:Ixodidae / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology*; D007814:Larva / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology; D009758:Nymph / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology; D012284:Rickettsia rickettsii / Q000502:physiology*; D012373:Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever / Q000635:transmission*
Amblyomma tonelliae; Rickettsia rickettsii; spotted fever; vectorial competence