Risk factors associated with ticks and Rickettsia spp. exposure in wild boars (Sus scrofa), hunting dogs, and hunters of Brazil

Louise Bach Kmetiuk; Thiago Fernandes Martins; Renato van Wilpe Bach; Camila Marinelli Martins; Ivan Roque de Barros-Filho; Leandro Cavalcante Lipinski; Giovani Marino Fávero; Andrea Pires Dos Santos; Alexander Welker Biondo

doi:10.14202/vetworld.2021.2745-2749

Risk factors associated with ticks and Rickettsia spp. exposure in wild boars (Sus scrofa), hunting dogs, and hunters of Brazil

Vet World. 2021 Oct;14(10):2745-2749. doi: 10.14202/vetworld.2021.2745-2749. Epub 2021 Oct 25.

Authors

Louise Bach Kmetiuk¹, Thiago Fernandes Martins², Renato van Wilpe Bach³, Camila Marinelli Martins³, Ivan Roque de Barros-Filho⁴, Leandro Cavalcante Lipinski³, Giovani Marino Fávero⁵, Andrea Pires Dos Santos⁶, Alexander Welker Biondo^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Graduate College of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), Coronel Francisco Heráclito dos Santos Avenue, 100, Curitiba, Paraná State, 81531-970, Brazil.
² Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, Orlando de Paiva Street, 87, São Paulo, SP, 05508 270, Brazil.
³ Department of Medicine, State University of Ponta Grossa, Carlos Cavalcante Avenue, 4748, Ponta Grossa, PR, 84030-900, Brazil.
⁴ Department of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Paraná State, Funcionários Street, 1540, Curitiba, Paraná State, 80035-050, Brazil.
⁵ Department of General Biology, State University of Ponta Grossa, General Carlos Cavalcanti, 4748, Ponta Grossa, Paraná State, 84030-900, Brazil.
⁶ Department of Comparative Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, Harrison Street, 725, West Lafayette, Indiana, 47907-2027, USA.

Abstract

Background and aim: Wild boars have recently been implicated as the maintainers and carriers of Amblyomma spp. ticks, which are essential for Rickettsia spp. transmission. Consequently, wild boar hunting may increase the risk of tick exposure and subsequent human tick-borne infection and disease. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the risk factors for ticks and Rickettsia spp. exposure in wild boars, hunting dogs, and hunters in Brazilian biomes.

Materials and methods: The statistical relationship of Rickettsia spp. antibodies were evaluated using the Chi-square test in 80 wild boars, 170 hunting dogs, and 49 hunters.

Results: The only statistically significant difference in seropositivity found in this study was between male and female wild boars (p=0.034), probably associated with in-park exposure to Amblyomma brasiliense infected with Rickettsia spp.

Conclusion: The absence of statistical differences in the associated risk factors for hunting dogs and hunters may indicate a random exposure to Rickettsia spp.

Keywords: Brazilian spotted fever; hunting activities; wild boars.