Molecular evidence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto and Rickettsia massiliae in ticks collected from a domestic-wild carnivore interface in Chihuahua, Mexico

Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2019 Aug;10(5):1118-1123. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2019.05.018. Epub 2019 Jun 2.

Abstract

Sixty-five wild carnivores and twenty free-roaming dogs from the Janos Biosphere Reserve (JBR), northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico, were inspected for ticks which were tested by molecular assays to identify Borrelia and Rickettsia infections. Overall, 45 ticks belonging to five taxa, including Dermacentor parumapertus, Ixodes hearlei, Ixodes kingi, Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l., and Ornithodoros sp. were collected from 9.2% of the wild carnivores and 60% of the free-roaming dogs. Borrelia burgdorferi s.s. DNA was detected in an I. kingi tick collected from a kit fox (Vulpes macrotis), while Rickettsia massiliae was detected in two (6.5%) of the 31 Rh. sanguineus s.l. collected from free-roaming dogs. Our results revealed host associations between free-roaming dogs and wild carnivore hosts and their ticks in the JBR. The presence of the etiological agents of Lyme disease and spotted fever rickettsiosis in ticks raises the potential risk of tick-borne diseases at the human-domestic-wildlife interface in northwestern Mexico.

Keywords: Borrelia; Dogs; Mexico; Rickettsia; Ticks; Wild carnivores.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Argasidae / microbiology
  • Borrelia burgdorferi / isolation & purification*
  • Canidae*
  • Dog Diseases / epidemiology*
  • Dog Diseases / parasitology
  • Dogs
  • Female
  • Host-Parasite Interactions
  • Ixodidae / microbiology*
  • Larva / growth & development
  • Larva / microbiology
  • Larva / physiology
  • Male
  • Mephitidae*
  • Mexico / epidemiology
  • Nymph / growth & development
  • Nymph / microbiology
  • Nymph / physiology
  • Rickettsia / isolation & purification*
  • Tick Infestations / epidemiology
  • Tick Infestations / parasitology
  • Tick Infestations / veterinary*