Pesquisa de anticorpos anti-Rickettsia SPP em cães e equinos na região de Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brasil

Abstract

Ticks are ectoparasites, vectors of diseases to humans and animals. Some of these are classified as zoonosis, with particular attention for the rickettsiosis. Rickettsial diseases are caused by bacteria of genus Rickettsia spp., and some of them are lethal. These bacteria are transmitted by arthropods as leas and ticks, which infect themselves in their host, than transmit for humans and ther animals. These animals can be wild or domestics and some of them are amplifiers agents of this pathogens in the environment, infecting other ectoparasites. To stablish a seroepidemiology profile of possible presence of Rickettsia spp. in the environment serologic assays are very important. Therefore, the aim of this study as to make a seroepidemiology investigation with dogs and horses on the rural area of Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Were visited 18 farms on the Region,where was collected blood of 50 dogs and 15 horses. Ticks, information about animal behavior and the presence of wild animals, was also collected. Indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) detected antibodies against Rickettsia spp. in 19 (38%) of the dogs and 13 (86.7%) of the horses. In all the farms that had animals with detected antibodies, the owners described that the dogs had free circulation in the entire farm. These results indicate the possible presence of more than one species of Rickettsia spp. In Uberlandia region. More studies becomes necessary for the isolation and molecular characterization of this pathogen. Fever diseases in humans with a historic of tick born have to be treated with attention for Brazilian Spotted Fever.