Rickettsial infection in Amblyomma cajennense ticks and capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) in a Brazilian spotted fever-endemic area.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Brazilian spotted fever (BSF), caused by the bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii, is the deadliest spotted fever of the world. In most of the BSF-endemic areas, capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) are the principal host for the tick Amblyomma cajennense, which is the main vector of BSF.

Methods

In 2012, a BSF case was confirmed in a child that was bitten by ticks in a residential park area inhabited by A. cajennense-infested capybaras in Itú municipality, southeastern Brazil. Host questing A. cajennense adult ticks were collected in the residential park and brought alive to the laboratory, where they were macerated and intraperitoneally inoculated into guinea pigs. A tick-inoculated guinea pig that presented high fever was euthanized and its internal organs were mac

SUBMITTER: Krawczak FS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3892071 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature