A preliminary investigation of Ehrlichia species in ticks, humans, dogs, and capybaras from Brazil

Marcelo B. Labruna, Jere W. McBride, Luis Marcelo A. Camargo, Daniel M. Aguiar, Michael J. Yabsley, William R. Davidson, Ellen Y. Stromdahl, Phillip C. Williamson, Roger W. Stich, S. Wesley Long, Erney P. Camargo, David H. Walker

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

41 Scopus citations

Abstract

A molecular epidemiologic investigation in two Brazilian states (Rondônia and São Paulo) was undertaken to determine if Ehrlichia species responsible for human and animal ehrlichioses in North America could be found in Brazilian vectors, potential natural mammalian reservoirs and febrile human patients with a tick bite history. Samples, including 376 ticks comprising 9 Amblyomma species, 29 capybara (Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris) spleens, 5 canine blood, and 75 human blood samples from febrile patients with history of tick bites were tested by a real-time PCR assay targeting a fragment of the Ehrlichia dsb gene. Ehrlichia DNA was not detected in any tick, capybara or human samples. In contrast, 4 out of 5 dogs contained Ehrlichia canis DNA in their blood, which were sequenced, representing the first report of E. canis infecting dogs in the Amazon region of Brazil. Further studies are needed to evaluate the presence of other agents of human and animal ehrlichioses in Brazil.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)189-195
Number of pages7
JournalVeterinary Parasitology
Volume143
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 31 2007

Keywords

  • Brazil
  • Dsb gene
  • Ehrlichia
  • Real-time PCR
  • Ticks

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Parasitology
  • General Veterinary

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