Rickettsiae-infected ticks in an endemic area of spotted fever in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil

RESUMO

A study on tick-borne rickettsiosis was developed in the county of Santa Cruz do Escalvado, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, where a clinical case of the disease, confirmed by necropsy, had been reported. Of the 1,254 ticks collected 1,061 belonged to the Amblyomma genus, 57 to the Rhipicephalus sanguineus species, 81 to Boophilus microplus, and 46 to Anocentor nitens. The hemolymph test associated with Gimenez staining showed that 18 of the 221 A. cajennense specimens, 1 of the 16 R. sanguineous, 1 of the 22 B. microplus, 3 of the A. nitens, and 1 of the A. ovale contanined rickettsia-like microorganisms. Only 3 A. cajennense ticks were positive under direct immunofluorescence. A. cajennense was the only species found on humans.