Dog ectoparasites as sentinels for pathogenic Rickettsia and Bartonella in rural Guatemala.

Background: Fleas and ticks serve as vectors of multiple pathogens in the genera and cause diseases in humans and other animals. Although human rickettsiosis and bartonellosis have been reported in all countries in Central America, limited research has been conducted to investigate the natural cycles of flea- and tick-borne rickettsiosis and bartonellosis, especially in Guatemala.

Methods: We evaluated dog parasites as sentinels for zoonotic disease risk in rural Guatemala by sampling ticks and fleas from dogs, which were then identified and individually screened for and .

Results: A total of 77 households were surveyed and 80.52% of them had dogs. Overall, 133 dogs were examined for fleas and ticks, of which 68.42% had fleas and 35.34% had ticks. A total of 433 fleas and 181 ticks were collected from the infested dogs, with an additional 33 ticks collected from house walls. Three flea species were identified: (70%), (11.8%), and sp. (17.8%). Among the collected ticks, 97% were with the rest being , and . were detected in six , in one sp., and in two , while Candidatus was detected in one was detected only in fleas, including three sp. infected with subsp. , and sp., respectively, and 11 infected with .

Conclusions: This study reports Candidatus and subsp. in Guatemala for the first time, and indicates the potential risk of human and dog exposure to and species. These results show that dogs provide critical information relevant to managing human potential exposure to flea- and tick-borne pathogens in rural Guatemala.