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Ticks infesting cattle and humans in the Yungas Biogeographic Province of Argentina, with notes on the presence of tick-borne bacteria

Experimental and Applied Acarology volume 74, pages 107–116 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

This study was performed to determine the tick species that infest cattle and humans throughout an altitudinal gradient in the Yungas Biogeographic Province of Argentina. The presence of tick-borne bacteria of the genera Rickettsia, Ehrlichia and Borrelia in the collected ticks was also evaluated. Samples of ticks parasitizing cattle and humans were carried out in different seasons. Questing ticks (adults and nymphs) were collected from vegetation and analyzed to detect the presence of Rickettsia, Ehrlichia and Borrelia by a battery of different PCRs. Five species of hard ticks were found parasitizing cattle: Amblyomma sculptum, Amblyomma tonelliae, Amblyomma hadanii, Haemaphysalis juxtakochi and Ixodes pararicinus. Amblyomma sculptum (immature and adults), A. tonelliae (immature and adults), A. hadanii (larvae) and one nymph of I. pararicinus were found attached to humans. Rickettsia amblyommatis was detected in one nymph of A. hadanii. DNA of a Borrelia genospecies belonging to the B. burgdorferi s.l. complex (phylogenetically related to haplotypes previously reported in Ixodes aragaoi from Uruguay and I. pararicinus from Argentina) was detected in adults of I. pararicinus. Amblyomma sculptum and I. pararicinus appear to be the tick species more frequent on cattle in the YBP from Argentina, and A. sculptum and A. tonelliae, were the main ticks found attached to humans. The medical importance of the bacteria of the genus Rickettsia and Borrelia detected in this work remains unknown.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the financial support of INTA, Asociación Cooperadora INTA Rafaela, CONICET and FONCyT (PICT 1298 and 526) to MNSB, ELT, AJM, AAG and SN, and Project ANII FMV-2-2011-1-6555 (Uruguay) to JMV. We also thank Oscar Warnke, Mario Wuattier and Carlos Cuñado Strelkov for their help during the field work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, CC 22, CP 2300, Rafaela, Santa Fe, Argentina

    María N. Saracho-Bottero, Evelina L. Tarragona, Patrick S. Sebastian, Atilio J. Mangold, Alberto A. Guglielmone & Santiago Nava

  2. Laboratorio de Vectores y enfermedades transmitidas, Facultad de Veterinaria, CENUR Litoral Norte – Salto, Universidad de la República, Rivera 1350, CP 50000, Salto, Uruguay

    José M. Venzal

Authors
  1. María N. Saracho-Bottero
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  2. Evelina L. Tarragona
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  3. Patrick S. Sebastian
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  4. José M. Venzal
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  5. Atilio J. Mangold
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  6. Alberto A. Guglielmone
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  7. Santiago Nava
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Correspondence to Santiago Nava.

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Saracho-Bottero, M.N., Tarragona, E.L., Sebastian, P.S. et al. Ticks infesting cattle and humans in the Yungas Biogeographic Province of Argentina, with notes on the presence of tick-borne bacteria. Exp Appl Acarol 74, 107–116 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-018-0208-4

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Keywords

  • Ixodidae
  • Cattle
  • Humans
  • Bacteria
  • Yungas
  • Argentina