Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link

Volume 17, Number 5—May 2011

Research

Experimental Infection of Amblyomma aureolatum Ticks with Rickettsia rickettsii

Marcelo B. LabrunaComments to Author , Maria Ogrzewalska, João F. Soares, Thiago F. Martins, Herbert S. Soares, Jonas Moraes-Filho, Fernanda A. Nieri-Bastos, Aliny P. Almeida, and Adriano Pinter
Author affiliations: Author affiliations: University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil (M.B. Labruna, M. Ogrzewalska, J.F. Soares, T.F. Martins, H.S. Soares, J. Moraes-Filho, F.A. Nieri-Bastos, A.P. Almeida); Superintendency of Control of Endemic Diseases, São Paulo (A. Pinter)

Main Article

Table 1

Clinical data of hosts infested by a Rickettsia rickettsii–infected colony of Amblyomma aureolatum ticks, and results of PCR performed on unfed ticks from 4 consecutive generations (F1 to F4)*

Tick stage and generation Infested hosts
 PCR of unfed ticks,
no. infected/no. tested
Host, no. No. ticks/host Fever†
 No. deaths Diagnostic test
No. Onset, dpi PCR‡ IFA§
Nymph–F1 Guinea pig, 2 50 2 6 2 Pos ND 45/45¶
Adult–F1 Dog, 2 20 couples 0 – 0 ND ND 10/10
Larva–F2 Guinea pig, 2 1,000–2,000 2 7–8 1 ND Pos –
Larva–F2 Rabbit, 3 1,000–2,000 3 7–9 0 ND Pos –
Nymph–F2 Guinea pig, 3 80 3 5 2 Pos Pos 30/30
Nymph–F2 Rabbit, 1 200 1 6 0 ND Pos –
Adult–F2 Rabbit, 2 7 couples 2 7–8 0 ND Pos –
Larva–-F3 Guinea pig, 4 1,000–2,000 4 7–8 2 Pos Pos –
Nymph–F3 Rabbit, 1 400 1 6 0 ND Pos –
Adult–F3 Dog, 1 12 couples 0 – 0 ND ND –
Larva–F4 Guinea pig, 5 1,000–3,000 5 6–7 1 ND Pos 100/100
Nymph–F4 Rabbit, 1 500 1 5 0 ND Pos 30/30

*dpi, days postinfestation; IFA, immunofluorescence assay; pos, positive; ND, not done; –, data not collected.
†Rectal temperature >40°C.
‡PCR performed on lung-extracted DNA from guinea pigs that died during the febrile period.
§A positive result means seroconversion, namely nonreactive (titer <64) at 0 DPI, and reactive (titer >1,024) at 21 dpi.
Previously reported by Labruna et al. (9).

Main Article

References
  1. Labruna  MB. Ecology of rickettsia in South America. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2009;1166:156–66. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  2. Demma  LJ, Traeger  MS, Nicholson  WL, Paddock  CD, Blau  DM, Eremeeva  ME, Rocky Mountain spotted fever from an unexpected tick vector in Arizona. N Engl J Med. 2005;353:587–94. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  3. Barrera  A. Algunas consideraciones biologicas sobre Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Latreille), 1806, transmisor de fiebre manchada en el norte y noroeste de Mexico. Rev Inst Salubr Enferm Trop. 1956;16:3–14.
  4. Katz  G, Neves  VLFC, Angerami  RN, Nascimento  EMM, Colombo  S. Situação epidemiológica e importância da febre maculosa no Estado de São Paulo. Boletim Epidemiológico Paulista. 2009;6:4–13.
  5. Pinter  A, Labruna  MB. Isolation of Rickettsia rickettsii and Rickettsia bellii in cell culture from the tick Amblyomma aureolatum in Brazil. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2006;1078:523–9. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  6. Guglielmone  AA, Estrada-Peña  A, Mangold  AJ, Barros-Battesti  DM, Labruna  MB, Martins  JR, Amblyomma aureolatum (Pallas, 1772) and Amblyomma ovale Kock, 1844: hosts, distribution and 16S rDNA sequences. Vet Parasitol. 2003;113:273–88. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  7. Guglielmone  AA, Beati  L, Barros-Battesti  DM, Labruna  MB, Nava  S, Venzal  JM, Ticks (Ixodidae) on humans in South America. Exp Appl Acarol. 2006;40:83–100. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  8. Pinter  A, Dias  RA, Gennari  SM, Labruna  MB. Study of the seasonal dynamics, life cycle, and host specificity of Amblyomma aureolatum (Acari: Ixodidae). J Med Entomol. 2004;41:324–32. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  9. Labruna  MB, Ogrzewalska  M, Martins  TF, Pinter  A, Horta  MC. Comparative susceptibility of larval stages of Amblyomma aureolatum, Amblyomma cajennense, and Rhipicephalus sanguineus to infection by Rickettsia rickettsii. J Med Entomol. 2008;45:1156–9. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  10. Piranda  EM, Faccini  JL, Pinter  A, Saito  TB, Pacheco  RC, Hagiwara  MK, Experimental infection of dogs with a Brazilian strain of Rickettsia rickettsii: clinical and laboratory findings. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz. 2008;103:696–701. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  11. Pinter  A, Labruna  MB, Faccini  JLH. The sex ratio of Amblyomma cajennense (Acari: Ixodidae) with notes on the male feeding period in the laboratory. Vet Parasitol. 2002;105:79–88. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  12. Drummond  RO, Whetstone  TM. Oviposition of the Gulf coast tick. J Econ Entomol. 1970;66:130–3.
  13. Labruna  MB, Leite  RC, Faccini  JLH, Ferreira  F. Life-cycle of the tick Haemaphysalis leporispalustris (Acari: Ixodidae) under laboratory conditions. Exp Appl Acarol. 2000;24:683–94. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  14. Horta  MC, Moraes-Filho  J, Casagrande  RA, Saito  TB, Rosa  SC, Ogrzewalska  M, Experimental infection of opossums Didelphis aurita by Rickettsia rickettsii and evaluation of the transmission of the infection to ticks Amblyomma cajennense. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2009;9:109–17. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  15. Fonseca  F. Validade da espécie e ciclo evolutivo de Amblyomma striatum Koch, 1844 (Acarina, Ixodidae). Mem Inst Butantan. 1935;9:43–58.
  16. Parola  P, Paddock  CD, Raoult  D. Tick-borne rickettsioses around the world: emerging diseases challenging old concepts. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2005;18:719–56. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  17. Ricketts  HT. Some aspects of Rocky Mountain spotted fever as shown by recent investigations. Medical Record. 1909;76:843–55.
  18. Parker  RR, Philip  CB, Jellison  WL. Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Potentialities of tick transmission in relation to geographic occurrence in the United States. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1933;13:341–78.
  19. Davis  GE. Experimental transmissions of the spotted fevers of the United States, Colombia, and Brazil by the argasid tick Ornithodors parkeri. Public Health Rep. 1943;58:1201–10. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  20. Burgdorfer  W. Investigation of the “transovarial transmission” of Rickettsia rickettsii in the wood tick, Dermacentor andersoni. Exp Parasitol. 1963;14:152–9. DOIGoogle Scholar
  21. Niebylski  ML, Peacock  MG, Schwan  TG. Lethal effect of Rickettsia rickettsii on its tick vector (Dermacentor andersoni). Appl Environ Microbiol. 1999;65:773–8.PubMedGoogle Scholar
  22. Freitas  LH, Faccini  JL, Labruna  MB. Experimental infection of the rabbit tick, Haemaphysalis leporispalustris, with the bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii, and comparative biology of infected and uninfected tick lineages. Exp Appl Acarol. 2009;47:321–45. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  23. Piranda  EM, Faccini  JL, Pinter  A, Pacheco  RC, Cançado  PH, Labruna  MB. Experimental infection of Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks with the bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii, using experimentally infected dogs. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2011; [Epub 2010 Jun 23].
  24. Burgdorfer  W, Brinton  LP. Mechanisms of transovarial infection of spotted fever rickettsiae in ticks. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1975;266:61–72. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  25. Levin  ML, Killmaster  L, Zemtsova  G, Grant  D, Mumcuoglu  KY, Eremeeva  ME, Incongruent effects of two isolates of Rickettsia conorii on the survival of Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks. Exp Appl Acarol. 2009;49:347–59. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  26. Santos  AS, Bacellar  F, Santos-Silva  M, Formosinho  P, Grácio  AJ, Franca  S. Ultrastructural study of the infection process of Rickettsia conorii in the salivary glands of the vector tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2002;2:165–77. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  27. Burgdorfer  W. Ecological and epidemiological considerations of Rocky Mountain spotted fever and scrub typhus. In: Walker DH, editor. Biology of rickettsial diseases. Vol. 1. Boca Raton (FL): CRC Inc.; 1988. p. 33–50.

Main Article

Page created: August 14, 2011
Page updated: August 14, 2011
Page reviewed: August 14, 2011
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
file_external