A database of common vampire bat reports.

The common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) is a sanguivorous (i.e., blood-eating) bat species distributed in the Americas from northern Mexico southwards to central Chile and Argentina.

A Vulnerability Analysis for the Management of and Response to the COVID-19 Epidemic in the Second Most Populous State in Brazil.

The COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to affect all individuals, however in a heterogeneous way. In this sense, identifying specificities of each location is essential to minimize the damage caused by the disease. Therefore, the aim of this research was to assess the vulnerability of 853 municipalities in the second most populous state in Brazil, Minas Gerais (MG), in order to direct public policies.

Underreporting of Death by COVID-19 in Brazil's Second Most Populous State.

The COVID-19 pandemic brings to light the reality of the Brazilian health system. The underreporting of COVID-19 deaths in the state of Minas Gerais (MG), where the second largest population of the country is concentrated, reveals government unpreparedness, as there is a low capacity of testing in the population, which prevents the real understanding of the general panorama of SARS-CoV-2 dissemination. The goals of this research are to analyze the causes of deaths in different Brazilian government databases (Civil Registry Transparency Portal and InfoGripe) and to assess whether there are sub-records showing an unexpected increase in the frequency of deaths from causes clinically similar to COVID-19.

Human Parasitism by Amblyomma parkeri Ticks Infected with Candidatus Rickettsia paranaensis, Brazil.

Spotted fever is the main rickettsial disease in Brazil. We report 12 cases of human parasitism by Amblyomma parkeri in the Atlantic rainforest, an area of Brazil to which spotted fever is endemic. Nine of the ticks were infected with Candidatus Rickettsia paranaensis.

Human parasitism and toxicosis by Ornithodoros rietcorreai (Acari: Argasidae) in an urban area of Northeastern Brazil.

The soft tick, Ornithodoros rietcorreai, is a parasite of the rodent, Kerodon rupestris, and, to a lesser extent, of bats living in rock cavities in Northeastern Brazil. This report describes the first recorded episodes of human parasitism by this argasid tick, reported to the Brazilian Ministry of Health in September 2017. We assessed outdoor environments, roofs, animal nests and chicken coops in five houses located in an urban area of Russas City, Ceará State, Brazil.

Rickettsia amblyommatis infecting Amblyomma pseudoconcolor in area of new focus of spotted fever in northeast Brazil.

In Brazil, active infections of Rickettsia spp. is confirmed in all regions, involving various species of ticks. During investigation of a new focus of Spotted Fever (SF) incidence in the state of Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil, tick species Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (Latreille), and Amblyomma pseudoconcolor were collected from one Canis familiaris and four Euphractus sexcinctus, respectively, and analized for the presence of rickettsial genes.

Confirming Rickettsia rickettsii as the etiological agent of lethal spotted fever group rickettsiosis in human patients from Espírito Santo state, Brazil.

Although Espírito Santo state is considered an endemic area for Brazilian spotted fever (BSF) with related lethal cases, it also constitutes the only state of southeastern Brazil that currently lacks a specific confirmation of the specific rickettsial agent. In an attempt to a species level confirmation of the etiological agent of fatal rickettsiosis cases in Espírito Santo state, in this study we tested human sera obtained between 2015 to 2017 by means of qPCR and subsequent conventional PCR protocols targeting gltA (citrate synthase) and ompA (190-kDA outer membrane protein) rickettsial genes. All samples were found to contain rickettsial DNA through the citrate synthase qPCR protocol.

Rickettsia sp. Strain NOD Infecting Ticks ( Amblyomma nodosum) in an Endemic Area of Spotted Fever in Brazil.

Amblyomma nodosum ticks were collected from one collared anteater ( Tamandua tetradactyla) in the Caatinga biome, Brazil. From one sample, we isolated a Rickettsia sp. that was phylogenetically close to Rickettsia sp.

Rickettsia rickettsii infecting Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (Latreille 1806), in high altitude atlantic forest fragments, Ceara State, Brazil.

In Brazil, Spotted Fever (SF) is caused by Rickettsia rickettsii and Rickettsia parkeri strain Atlantic Forest. In recent years, several human cases of a milder SF have been reported from the Maciço de Baturité region of Ceará State. Previous studies in this region found R.

Spotted Fever: Epidemiology and Vector-Host Relationship in Rio de Janeiro State.

The eco-epidemiological scenario of spotted fever (SF), a tick-borne disease that affects humans and other animals in several countries around the world, was analyzed in Rio de Janeiro (RJ) State, Brazil. During the last 34 years, 990 SF cases were reported in RJ (the Brazilian state with the highest population density), including 116 cases confirmed by serology (RIFI) or PCR, among 42.39% of the municipalities with reported cases of SF.

Ultrastructural Morphology and Molecular Analyses of Tropical and Temperate "Species" of Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (Acari: Ixodidae) in Brazil.

The Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Latreille) complex (Acari:Ixodidae) is composed of species with intra- and interspecific morphological variation that make their diagnosis difficult. In the present study, male specimens of the R. sanguineus complex were collected from dogs in six districts of three regions of Brazil and submitted to molecular and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses.

An update on the epidemiological situation of spotted fever in Brazil.

Background: Spotted fever is a tick-borne rickettsial disease. In Brazil, its notification to the Ministry of Health is compulsory. Since 2007, cases of spotted fever have been integrated to the Notifiable Diseases Information System, and epidemiological analyzes are part of the routines on surveillance programs.

Vulnerability of Brazilian municipalities to hantavirus infections based on multi-criteria decision analysis.

Background: Hantavirus infection is an emerging zoonosis transmitted by wild rodents. In Brazil, high case-fatality rates among humans infected with hantavirus are of serious concern to public health authorities. Appropriate preventive measures partly depend on reliable knowledge about the geographical distribution of this disease.

Assessing the vulnerability of Brazilian municipalities to the vectorial transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi using multi-criteria decision analysis.

Despite the dramatic reduction in Trypanosoma cruzi vectorial transmission in Brazil, acute cases of Chagas disease (CD) continue to be recorded. The identification of areas with greater vulnerability to the occurrence of vector-borne CD is essential to prevention, control, and surveillance activities. In the current study, data on the occurrence of domiciliated triatomines in Brazil (non-Amazonian regions) between 2007 and 2011 were analyzed.

Potential geographic distribution of hantavirus reservoirs in Brazil.

Hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome is an emerging zoonosis in Brazil. Human infections occur via inhalation of aerosolized viral particles from excreta of infected wild rodents. Necromys lasiurus and Oligoryzomys nigripes appear to be the main reservoirs of hantavirus in the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado biomes.