Seasonal dynamics and rickettsial infection in free-living Amblyomma dubitatum in the Atlantic forest biome in north-eastern Brazil.

The genus Amblyomma is the most representative tick genus in Brazil and some species act as vectors of pathogenic organisms to animals and humans. Information on the seasonal dynamics of Amblyomma spp. as well as on rickettsial organisms infecting these ticks in some regions in Brazil is still fragmentary.

Phenology of Amblyomma sculptum in a degraded area of Atlantic rainforest in north-eastern Brazil.

Amblyomma sculptum is the principal vector of Rickettsia rickettsii, the main agent of spotted fever rickettsiosis in Brazil. Little information is available regarding the population dynamics of this tick in some regions, including north-eastern Brazil, where cases of spotted fever rickettsioses are increasingly reported. Herein, we studied the phenology of A.

Cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis in dogs from a rural community in northeastern Brazil.

A community-based epidemiological study was carried out in a rural area in northeastern Brazil, where visceral leishmaniasis is endemic, but the primary vector Lutzomyia longipalpis has never been found. Forty-one dogs were screened by an indirect immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT) for the presence of anti-Leishmania antibodies and 12 (29.3%) of them were positive.

Ectoparasite infestation on rural dogs in the municipality of São Vicente Férrer, Pernambuco, Northeastern Brazil.

This article presents the results of a study on ectoparasites infesting rural dogs in Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil. Forty-one dogs from a rural community of Pernambuco were examined and 70.7% were infested by ectoparasites.