Microorganisms in ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) collected on marsupials and rodents from Santa Catarina, Paraná and Mato Grosso do Sul states, Brazil.

Information about tick fauna and monitoring of pathogen prevalences in ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) in various habitat types can enhance knowledge about the epidemiology of tick-borne pathogens in Brazil. This work shows the results of a study of tick parasitism of wild rodents and marsupials collected in seven localities in the southern part of Brazil, within Atlantic Forest and Cerrado biomes. A total of 61 ticks were collected from small mammals, and after identification to the species level, the ticks were individually tested for the presence of bacteria of the genera Rickettsia, Borrelia, family Anaplasmataceae, and protozoa of the genus Babesia.

Population ecology of hantavirus rodent hosts in southern Brazil.

In this study we analyze population dynamics of hantavirus rodent hosts and prevalence of infection over a 2-year period in Southern Brazil, a region with a high incidence of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. The 14 small mammal species captured were composed of 10 rodents and four marsupials, the six most abundant species being Akodon serrensis, Oxymycterus judex, Akodon montensis, Akodon paranaensis, Oligoryzomys nigripes, and Thaptomys nigrita. These species displayed a similar pattern with increasing population sizes in fall/winter caused by recruitment and both, increase in reproductive activity and higher hantavirus prevalence in spring/summer.

Characterization of Juquitiba virus in Oligoryzomys fornesi from Brazilian Cerrado.

The Juquitiba virus, an agent of Hantavirus Cardiopulmonary Syndrome, is one of the most widely distributed hantavirus found in South America. It has been detected in Oligoryzomys nigripes, Akodon montensis, Oxymycterus judex, Akodon paranaensis in Brazil and in O. nigripes, Oryzomys sp.