Records and Altitudinal Assessment of Amblyomma Aureolatum and Amblyomma Ovale (Acari: Ixodidae) in the State of Rio De Janeiro, Southeast Brazil

Overview

Journal Parasit Vectors

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialties Parasitology
Tropical Medicine

Date 2022 Apr 22

PMID 35449085

Authors

Joao L H Faccini

Helio F Santos

Livio M Costa-Junior

Socrates F Costa-Neto

Wagner S Tassinari

Hermes R Luz

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Information on the altitudinal distribution of the hard ticks Amblyomma aureolatum and Amblyomma ovale in Brazil is scarce and mainly limited to occasional records. In this study we report our evaluation of records on the altitudinal distribution of A. aureolatum and A. ovale collected from dogs and humans and directly from the environment (host-questing ticks), based on active or passive procedures. The collections were conducted in rural areas of municipalities in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil between 2013 and 2017. Active procedures consisted of dragging or flagging, visual examination of vegetation and removal of ticks present on the authors' clothing or on infested dogs. Overall, 222 ticks were collected. The altitudes at the collection sites ranged from 98 to 1220 m a.s.l. We noted a significant difference in the altitudinal distribution of A. aureolatum and A. ovale (Mann-Whitney U-test, U = 518.5, P < 0.001). The overlap of these two species occurred at altitudes of between 650 and 900 m a.s.l. The results indicated that the higher the altitude, the greater the probability for the occurrence of A. aureolatum and, conversely, the lower the likelihood for the occurrence of A. ovale. The findings of this study improve currrent knowledge on the bioecology of these tick species and have implications for studies on the epidemiology of spotted fever in Brazil.

Citing Articles

Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) and tick-borne agents associated with domestic dogs in an environmental protection area in Brazil, with molecular evidence of Rhipicephalus linnaei (Audouin, 1826).

Santos H, Flausino W, Martins T, Silito I, Luz H, de Azevedo Serpa M Rev Bras Parasitol Vet. 2024; 33(3):e008224.

PMID: 39383386 PMC: 11486457. DOI: 10.1590/S1984-29612024045.

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