Serosurvey of,, andin Quilombola Communities of Southern Brazil.

Abstract

Althoughindividuals and their dogs may be exposed to hemoparasites such as,, and, no study to date has been conducted in these populations. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of antibodies against,andin humans and dogs fromcommunities in Brazil. Serum samples from humans and dogs were collected from four ruralcommunities and analyzed using indirect immunofluorescence assays. The results revealed antibody levels of 8% for, 3% forand 1% forin humans and 60%, 50%, and 65%, respectively, in dogs. Notably, women were significantly more likely to be seropositive forthan men (= 0.0289). Dogs from the Serra do Apon community more commonly had(= 0.0477) and(= 0.0448) than those from the other areas. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report human exposure toand the ocurrence ofin Brazil. The antibody level of vector-borne diseases in humans is a public health concern, particularly in vulnerable populations and rural areas. The dogs were universally hostedticks, suggesting their possible role in transmission. Thus, further epidemiological surveillance studies should be conducted in vulnerable populations to mitigate the impact of such zoonotic diseases.