Dataset Information

Rickettsia species infecting Amblyomma cooperi ticks from an area in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, where Brazilian spotted fever is endemic.

ABSTRACT: Owing to the potential role of the tick Amblyomma cooperi in the enzootic cycle of Rickettsia rickettsii, the etiologic agent of Brazilian spotted fever (BSF), this study evaluated infection by Rickettsia species in A. cooperi ticks collected from an area in Brazil where BSF is endemic. Among a total of 40 A. cooperi adult ticks collected in an area of BSF endemicity in the state of São Paulo, PCR analysis detected DNA of Rickettsia bellii in 16 ticks (40%), and 3 other ticks (7.5%) were positive for a previously unidentified spotted-fever-group (SFG) rickettsia. Cultivation in Vero cell cultures by the shell vial technique with individual A. cooperi ticks resulted in two isolates of R. bellii and one isolate genotypically characterized as an SFG rickettsia. The two R. bellii isolates were established in Vero cell cultures in the laboratory and were confirmed to be R. bellii by molecular analysis of the gltA and 17-kDa protein-encoding genes and by electron microscopic analysis. The SFG rickettsial isolate could not be stably passaged in cell culture in the laboratory, but molecular analysis of early passages suggested that it was closely related to Rickettsia parkeri, Rickettsia africae, and Rickettsia sibirica. These results do not support the role of A. cooperi in the ecology of R. rickettsii in the area studied, but they add two more species of rickettsiae to the poorly developed list of species occurring in ticks in South America.

SUBMITTER: Labruna MB

PROVIDER: S-EPMC321730 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Rickettsia species infecting Amblyomma cooperi ticks from an area in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, where Brazilian spotted fever is endemic.

Labruna Marcelo B MB Whitworth Ted T Horta Maurício C MC Bouyer Donald H DH McBride Jere W JW Pinter Adriano A Popov Vsevolod V Gennari Solange M SM Walker David H DH

Journal of clinical microbiology 20040101 1

Owing to the potential role of the tick Amblyomma cooperi in the enzootic cycle of Rickettsia rickettsii, the etiologic agent of Brazilian spotted fever (BSF), this study evaluated infection by Rickettsia species in A. cooperi ticks collected from an area in Brazil where BSF is endemic. Among a total of 40 A. cooperi adult ticks collected in an area of BSF endemicity in the state of São Paulo, PCR analysis detected DNA of Rickettsia bellii in 16 ticks (40%), and 3 other ticks (7.5%) were positiv ...[more]

PMID: 14715737

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Project description: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 macerated and inoculated into additional guinea pigs (guinea pig passage). Tissue samples from guinea pig passages were also used to inoculate Vero cells through the shell vial technique. Infected cells were used for molecular characterization of the rickettsial isolate through PCR and DNA sequencing of fragments of three rickettsial genes (gltA, ompA, and ompB). Blood serum samples were collected from 172 capybaras that inhabited the residential park. Sera were tested through the immunofluorescence assay using R. rickettsii antigen. RESULTS: A tick-inoculated guinea pig presented high fever accompanied by scrotal reactions (edema and marked redness). These signs were reproduced by consecutive guinea pig passages. Rickettsia was successfully isolated in Vero cells that were inoculated with brain homogenate derived from a 3rd passage-febrile guinea pig. Molecular characterization of this rickettsial isolate (designated as strain ITU) yielded DNA sequences that were all 100% identical to corresponding sequences of R. rickettsii in Genbank. A total of 83 (48.3%) out of 172 capybaras were seroreactive to R. rickettsii, with endpoint titers ranging from 64 to 8192. CONCLUSIONS: A viable isolate of R. rickettsii was obtained from the tick A. cajennense, comprising the first viable R. rickettsi isolate from this tick species during the last 60 years. Nearly half of the capybara population of the residential park was seroreactive to R. rickettsii, corroborating the findings that the local A. cajennense population was infected by R. rickettsii.

Dataset Information

Rickettsia species infecting Amblyomma cooperi ticks from an area in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, where Brazilian spotted fever is endemic.

Publications

Rickettsia species infecting Amblyomma cooperi ticks from an area in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, where Brazilian spotted fever is endemic.

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