Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Ticks on dogs in rural Yucatan and rickettsial infection risk
By Ojeda-Chi, Melina M et al.·Published in Transboundary and emerging diseases·2019·Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Ticks infesting dogs in rural communities of Yucatan, Mexico and molecular diagnosis of rickettsial infection.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study found that over half of the 319 dogs examined in rural Yucatan, Mexico, were infested with ticks, with the most common type being Rhipicephalus sanguineus. These ticks were found to carry a bacteria called Ehrlichia canis, which can cause health issues in dogs. While the study confirmed the presence of this bacteria in certain tick species, it did not establish whether these ticks can effectively transmit the infection to dogs. This highlights the importance of tick control to protect dogs from potential tick-borne diseases.
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Abstract
Rickettsial infection in dog-associated ticks in three rural communities of Yucatan, Mexico was investigated using qPCR and nested PCR assays. A total of 319 dogs were studied and ticks samples were collected. A total of 170 dogs were infested with ticks (frequency of 53.4%). Overall, 1,380 ticks representing seven species were collected: Amblyomma mixtum, A. ovale, A. parvum, A. cf. oblongoguttatum, Ixodes affinis, Rhipicephalus microplus, and R. sanguineus sensu lato. The most abundant species was R. sanguineus s.l. with a mean intensity of 7.4 ticks/host. Dogs in the communities of Chan San Antonio and Yaxcheku were 2.84 and 2.41 times more likely to be infected with R. sanguineus compared with Sucopo (p < 0.05). Adult pools of A. mixtum, A. parvum, I. affinis, R. microplus, and A. c.f. oblongoguttatum were negative to E. chaffeensis, E. ewingii, A. phagocytophilum, and R. rickettsii. However, pools of R. sanguineus s.l. adults and A. ovale adults, as well as nymphs of Amblyomma spp. were positive to E. canis. Sequencing analysis of the nested PCR products amplifying the 16S rRNA gene fragment of E. canis confirmed the results and revealed 100% identity with sequences of E. canis. This is the first report worldwide of E. canis infection in A. ovale by PCR. This finding does not necessarily indicate that A. ovale is a competent vector of E. canis because pathogen transmission of this specific tick to a naïve dog remains to be documented. This study documented that different tick species parasitize dogs in Yucatan, Mexico, where R. sanguineus s.l., A. ovale, and nymphs of Amblyomma spp. were shown to be infected with E. canis. These findings highlight the need for control strategies against tick infestations in dogs to prevent the risk of tick-borne disease transmission among companion animal and probably human populations.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30102850/