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

Vet World Vol.14 October-2021 Article-24

Research Article

Veterinary World, 14(10): 2745-2749

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2021.2745-2749

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, and Alexander Welker Biondo^1,4

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.

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.

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

How to cite this article: Kmetiuk LB, Martins TF, Bach RVW, Martins CM, de Barros-Filho IR, Lipinski LC, Fávero GM, dos Santos AP, Biondo AW (2021) Risk factors associated with ticks and Rickettsia spp. exposure in wild boars (Sus scrofa), hunting dogs, and hunters of Brazil, Veterinary World, 14(10): 2745-2749.

Received: 08-06-2021 Accepted: 30-08-2021 Published online: 25-10-2021

Corresponding author: Alexander Welker Biondo E-mail: abiondo@ufpr.br

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2021.2745-2749

Copyright: Kmetiuk, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.