Ticks biting humans in the Brazilian savannah: Attachment sites and exposure risk in relation to species, life stage and season.

Information about human tick bites in Brazil is mostly anecdotal. Published information is typically restricted to single tick infestation episodes and does not address human exposure occurring on a daily basis in natural, rural, or green urban areas. We present a comprehensive 2-yr study on human parasitism during a broad survey on ticks within a Brazilian savannah reserve.

Species richness and seasonal dynamics of ticks with notes on rickettsial infection in a Natural Park of the Cerrado biome in Brazil.

This study evaluated the species richness and seasonal dynamics of ticks and rickettsial agents infecting ticks in the largest natural Reserve of the Cerrado biome of Brazil, the Grande Sertão Veredas National Park. During 2012-2014, a total of 9531 host-seeking ticks were collected by dry ice traps and dragging, whereas 1563 ticks were collected from small mammals, and 1186 ticks from domestic animals. Overall, the following 12 tick species were identified: Amblyomma auricularium, Amblyomma dubitatum, Amblyomma naponense, Amblyomma ovale, Amblyomma parvum, Amblyomma sculptum, Amblyomma tigrinum, Amblyomma triste, Dermacentor nitens, Rhipicephalus microplus, Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato, and Ornithodoros mimon.

Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in wild rodents and marsupials from the Atlantic Forest, state of São Paulo, Brazil.

Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite that infects a large spectrum of warm-blooded animals, including humans. Small rodents and marsupials play an important role in the epidemiology of T. gondii because they are sources of infection for domestic and feral cats.

Rickettsia bellii in Amblyomma rotundatum ticks parasitizing Rhinella jimi from northeastern Brazil.

This study evaluated rickettsial infection in Amblyomma rotundatum ticks collected from toads (Rhinella jimi) in the Brazilian Caatinga biome, an unique semiarid region of South America. Tick infestations were observed in 57.8% toads (26/45); mean infestation: 1.

Feeding period required by Amblyomma aureolatum ticks for transmission of Rickettsia rickettsii to vertebrate hosts.

Rocky Mountain spotted fever is endemic to the São Paulo metropolitan area, Brazil, where the etiologic agent, Rickettsia rickettsii, is transmitted to humans by adult Amblyomma aureolatum ticks. We determined the minimal feeding period required by A. aureolatum nymphs and adults to transmit R.

Rickettsia amblyommii infecting Amblyomma auricularium ticks in Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil: isolation, transovarial transmission, and transstadial perpetuation.

This study investigated rickettsial infection in Amblyomma auricularium ticks from the state of Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil. An engorged female of A. auricularium collected from a skunk (Conepatus semistriatus) was sent alive to the laboratory, where the female was found through molecular analysis to be infected by Rickettsia amblyommii.

Epidemiology of Brazilian spotted fever in the Atlantic Forest, state of São Paulo, Brazil.

The tick-borne bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii is the aetiological agent of Brazilian spotted fever (BSF). The present study evaluated tick infestations on wild and domestic animals, and the rickettsial infection in these animals and their ticks in 7 forest areas adjacent to human communities in the São Paulo Metropolitan Area (SPMA). The results were compared to ecological traits of each sampled area.

Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) associated with small terrestrial mammals in the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil.

From June 2005 to November 2010, 43 small mammals encompassing 6 species of Didelphimorphia, 8 species of Rodentia, and 1 species of Lagomorpha were found parasitized by ticks in the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. Nine tick species, in total 186 specimens, were identified as follows: Amblyomma cajennense (larvae and nymphs) on opossums and rodents; Amblyomma ovale (nymphs) on rodents; Amblyomma parvum (nymphs) on rodents; Amblyomma coelebs (nymphs) on opossums; Amblyomma dubitatum (nymph) on opossums; Ixodes amarali (females, nymphs, and larvae) on opossums and rodents; Ixodes loricatus (male, females, nymph) on opossums; Ixodes schulzei (female) on rodents; and Haemaphysalis leporispalustris (female) on rabbits. Most of the tick-host associations found in the present study have never been recorded in the literature; those include three new host records for I.