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Vectorial competence of A mblyomma tonelliae to transmit R ickettsia rickettsii
Author(s) -
TARRAGONA E. L.,
SOARES J. F.,
COSTA F. B.,
LABRUNA M. B.,
NAVA S.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
medical and veterinary entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.028
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1365-2915
pISSN - 0269-283X
DOI - 10.1111/mve.12189
Subject(s) - rickettsia rickettsii , biology , rocky mountain spotted fever , rickettsiosis , virology , tick , pathogen , spotted fever , microbiology and biotechnology , rickettsia , virus
The aim of this work was to test the vectorial competence of A mblyomma tonelliae ( I xodida: I xodidae) to transmit R ickettsia rickettsii ( R ickettsiales: R ickettsiaceae), the agent of R ocky M ountain spotted fever ( RMSF ). All parasitic stages of A . tonelliae were exposed to R . rickettsii by allowing each stage to feed on hosts inoculated with this pathogen. Thereafter, ticks were fed on uninfected hosts. All stages of A . tonelliae were able to acquire the R . rickettsii infection and maintain it by transstadial and transovarial transmission. When infected ticks fed on uninfected hosts, the hosts developed rickettsiosis disease. This study demonstrates the vectorial competence of A . tonelliae to transmit R . rickettsii . These results have epidemiological relevance because A . tonelliae is one of the tick species most likely to infest humans in A rgentina, including in areas in which RMSF has been reported.