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Molecular screening of tick-borne microorganisms in ticks from rural areas of Panama, with the first record of Ehrlichia minasensis in Rhipicephalus microplus from Central America

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Abstract

During a molecular screening of rickettsial, borrelial and protozoal agents in ticks from rural areas of Panama, we detected DNA of Rickettsia amblyommatis in four Amblyomma mixtum collected from horses in a locality in Los Santos province. Ehrlichia minasensis and Anaplasma marginale were identified from three and two Rhipicephalus microplus, respectively, collected on cows from Chiriqui province. No DNA from other tick-borne agents was found. These results increase the information of R. amblyommatis and A. marginale in Panama, and also mark the first record of E. minasensis in Central America.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the families Araúz, Quiel, Guillén, Gonzáles and Domínguez for their collaboration, to Amanda Ganster to improve of the English.

Funding

This project financed by Programa de Desarrollo de las Ciencias Básicas (PEDEClBA), Universidad de la República, Uruguay.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Investigación en Entomología Médica, Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas de Estudios de la Salud, Avenida Justo Arosemena y Calle 35, Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá, Panama

    Sergio E. Bermúdez C & Lillian Domínguez A

  2. Programa de Desarrollo de las Ciencias Básicas (PEDEClBA), Universidad de la República, Rivera, Salto, Uruguay

    Sergio E. Bermúdez C

  3. Laboratorio de Vectores y Enfermedades Transmitidas, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, CENUR Litoral Norte, Universidad de la República, Rivera, Salto, Uruguay

    María L. Félix & José M. Venzal

  4. Departamento Investigación en Virología y Biotecnología, Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas de Estudios de la Salud, Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá, Panama

    Dimelza Araúz

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  1. Sergio E. Bermúdez C
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  3. Lillian Domínguez A
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Contributions

Conceptualization, S.E.B and J.M.V.; Methodology, S.E.B., J.M.V, M.L.F, L.D.A; investigation, J.M.V, S.E.B. M.L.F, L.D.A and J.M.V., and D.A; resources, J.M.V, S.E.B.; data curation, S.E.C. and J.M.V.; writing—original draft preparation, S.E.B; writing—review and editing, J.M.V, S.E.B. M.L.F, L.D.A and J.M.V., and D.A; visualization, S.E.B. and J.M.V.; supervision, J.M.V. and S.E.B; funding acquisition, J.MV, S.E.B, L.D.A. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sergio E. Bermúdez C.

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The study protocol was approved by the Ministry of Environment for the permit (SC/A-2-19).

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Bermúdez C, S.E., Félix, M.L., Domínguez A, L. et al. Molecular screening of tick-borne microorganisms in ticks from rural areas of Panama, with the first record of Ehrlichia minasensis in Rhipicephalus microplus from Central America. Vet Res Commun 48, 1301–1308 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-024-10306-2

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