Abstract
Capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) are hosts for the tick species Amblyomma dubitatumand Amblyomma cajennense. The latter, popularly known in Brazil as “carrapato-estrela”, is the main vector of the bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii, the etiological agent of Brazilian spotted fever, the most deadly rickettsiosis in the world. Current public opinion associates human cases of Brazilian spotted fever with capybaras and their ticks, and this has led to capybaras being blamed for the increasing occurrence of the disease over the last few decades in southeastern Brazil. In fact, the ecology of Brazilian spotted fever is more complex, involving many agents, including, but not restricted to, capybaras. This chapter discusses the role of capybaras in the occurrence of Brazilian spotted fever, especially in the state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil, where this issue has been well studied. There may be a causal relationship between the rising capybara population and the re-emergence of the disease in the state of São Paulo, since both capybara populations and the number of Brazilian spotted fever cases have increased significantly in this state over the last three decades (Labruna 2009; Del Fiol et al. 2010). However, capybaras are not the sole vertebrate species associated with the reemergence of the disease. We present what is known of the current epidemiology of Brazilian spotted fever, in order to target control and prevention of the disease in areas where capybaras have been shown to play a primary role.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Blair PJ et al (2004) Characterization of spotted fever group rickettsiae in flea and tick specimens from northern Peru. J Clin Microbiol 42:4961–4967
Bozeman FM, Shirai A, Humphries JW, Fuller HS (1967) Ecology of Rocky Mountain spotted fever II. Natural infection of wild mammals and birds in Virginia and Maryland. Am J Trop Med Hyg 16:48–59
Brumpt E (1933) Transmission de la fiébre pourprée des Montagnes rocheuses par la tique américaine Amblyomma cajennense. Comptes Rendues des Seances de la Societé de Biologie. Compt Rend Soc Biol 144:416–419
Burgdorfer W (1988) Ecological and epidemiological considerations of Rocky Mountain spotted fever and scrub typhus. In: Walker DH (ed) Biology of Rickettsial diseases, vol 1. CRC Inc, Boca Raton, pp 33–50
Burgdorfer W, Cooney JC, Mavros AJ, Jellison WL, Maser C (1980) The role of cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagusspp.) in the ecology of Rickettsia rickettsiiin the United States. Am J Trop Med Hyg 29:686–690
Bustamante ME, Varela G (1947) Distribuicion de las rickettsiasis en Mexico. Rev Inst Salubr Enferm Trop 8:3–14
Cunha AP, Bello ACP, Leite RC, Bastianetto E, Ribeiro ACCL, Freitas CMV, Oliveira PR (2007) Controle estratégico de Amblyomma cajennense (Fabricius,1787) (Acari:Ixodidae) em equinos em Minas Gerais, Brasil – Parte I. Rev Bras Parasitol Vet 16:212–219
Del Fiol FS et al (2010) Febre maculosa no Brasil. Rev Panam Salud Publica 27:461–466
Demma LJ et al (2005) Rocky Mountain spotted fever from an unexpected tick vector in Arizona. N Engl J Med 353:587–594
Galvão MAM (1996) Febre maculosa em Minas Gerais: um estudo sobre a distribuição da doença no estado e seu comportamento em área de foco periurbano. Ph.D. thesis, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte
Guedes E, Leite RC, Prata MCA, Pacheco RC, Walker DH, Labruna MB (2005) Detection of Rickettsia rickettsiiin the tick Amblyomma cajennensein a new Brazilian spotted fever–endemic area in the state of Minas Gerais. Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Compt Rend Soc Biol 100:841–848
Horta MC (2006) Estudo Epidemiológico de Rickettsia felisem Áreas Endêmicas e Não-endêmicas para Febre Maculosa Brasileira do Estado de São Paulo. Ph.D. thesis, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo
Horta MC et al (2004) Prevalence of antibodies to spotted fever group rickettsiae in humans and domestic animals in a Brazilian spotted fever endemic area in the state of São Paulo, Brazil: serological evidence for infection by Rickettsia rickettsiiand another spotted fever group rickettsia. Am J Trop Med Hyg 71:93–97
Horta MC, Moraes-Filho J, Casagrande RA, Saito TB, Rosa SC, Ogrzewalska M, Matushima ER, Labruna MB (2009) Experimental infection of opossums Didelphis auritaby Rickettsia rickettsiiand evaluation of the transmission of the infection to ticks Amblyomma cajennense. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 9:109–117
Keenan K et al (1977) Pathogenesis of infection with Rickettsia rickettsiiin the dog: a disease model for Rocky Mountain spotted fever. J Infect Dis 135:911–917
Kikuchi Y, Fukatsu T (2005) Rickettsiainfection in natural leech populations. Microb Ecol 49:265–271
Labruna MB (2004) Biologia-ecologia de Rhipicephalus sanguineus(Acari: Ixodidae). Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia Veterinária 13(suppl.):123–124
Labruna MB (2009) Ecology of Rickettsiain South America. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1166:156–166
Labruna MB, Kerber CE, Ferreira F, Faccini JLH, De Waal DT, Gennari SM (2001) Risk factors to tick infestations and their occurrence on horses in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. Vet Parasitol 97:1–14
Labruna MB, Amaku M, Metzner JA, Pinter A, Ferreira F (2003) Larval behavioral diapause regulates life cycle of Amblyomma cajennense(Acari: Ixodidae) in southeast Brazil. J Med Entomol 40:171–178
Labruna MB, Leite RC, Gobesso A, Gennari SM, Kasai N (2004a) Controle estratégico do carrapato Amblyomma cajennenseem eqüinos. Ciência Rural Santa Maria. Compt Rend Soc Biol 34:195–200
Labruna MB et al (2004b) Rickettsia belliiand Rickettsia amblyommiiin Amblyommaticks from the state of Rondonia, Western Amazon, Brazil. J Med Entomol 41:1073–1081
Labruna MB, Camargo LMA, Camargo EP, Walker DH (2005a) Detection of a spotted fever group Rickettsiain the tick Haemaphysalis juxtakochiin Rondonia, Brazil. Vet Parasitol 127:169–174
Labruna MB, Camargo LMA, Terrassini FA, Ferreira F, Schumaker TTS, Camargo EP (2005b) Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) from the State of Rondônia, western Amazon, Brazil. Sys App Acarol 10:17–32
Labruna MB et al (2007) Prevalence of Rickettsiainfection in dogs from the urban and rural areas of Monte Negro Municipality, western Amazon, Brazil. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 7:249–255
Labruna MB et al (2011) Experimental infection of Amblyomma aureolatumticks with Rickettsia rickettsii. Emerg Infect Dis 17:829–834
Leite RC, Oliveira PR, Lopes CML, Freitas CMV (1997) Alguns aspectos epidemiológicos das infestações por Amblyomma cajennense: uma proposta de controle estratégico. In: Veríssimo CJ, Augusto C (eds) II Simpósio sobre Controle de Parasitos: Controle de parasitos de eqüinos. Instituto de Zootecnia, Nova Odessa, pp 9–14
Lemos ER, Machado RD, Coura JR, Guimarães MA, Chagas N (1996) Epidemiological aspects of the Brazilian spotted fever: serological survey of dogs and horses in an endemic area in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo 38:427–430
Mcdade JE, Newhouse VF (1986) Natural history of Rickettsia rickettsii. Annu Rev Microbiol 40:287–309
Monteiro JL, Fonseca F (1932) Typho exanthematico de S. Paulo – Novas experiências sobre transmissão experimental por carrapatos (Boophilus micropluse Amblyomma cajennense). Memórias do Instituto Butantã. Compt Rend Soc Biol 7:33–40
Monteiro JL, Fonseca F, Prado A (1932) Typho endêmico de São Paulo – VI. Pesquisas sobre a possibilidade da transmissão experimental do vírus por Ixodidae. Compt Rend Soc Biol 46:49–52
Moreira JA, Magalhães O (1935) Thypho exanthematico em Minas Gerais. Bras Med 44:465–470
Niebylski ML, Peacock MG, Schwan TG (1999) Lethal effect of Rickettsia rickettsiion its tick vector (Dermacentor andersoni). Appl Environ Microbiol 65:773–778
Norment BR, Burgdorfer W (1984) Susceptibility and reservoir potential of the dog to spotted fever-group rickettsiae. Am J Vet Res 45:1706–1710
Ojasti J (1973) Estudio Biologico del Chigüire o Capibara. FONAIAP, Caracas
Paddock CD, Fernandez S, Echenique GA, Sumner JW, Reeves WK, Zaki SR, Remondegui CE (2008) Rocky Mountain spotted fever in Argentina. Am J Trop Med Hyg 78:687–692
Parker RR, Pickens EG, Lackman DB, Bell EJ, Thraikill FB (1951) Isolation and characterization of Rocky Mountain spotted fever Rickettsiae from the rabbit tick Haemaphysalis leporis-palustrisPackard. Publ Health Rep 66:455–463
Parola P, Labruna MB, Raoult D (2009) Tick-borne Rickettsioses in America: unanswered questions and emerging diseases. Curr Infect Dis Rep 11:40–50
Patino-Camargo L (1941) Nuevas observaciones sobre un tercer foco de fiebre petequial (maculosa) en el hemisferio americano. Boletin de la Oficina Sanitaria Panamericana. Compt Rend Soc Biol 20:1112–1124
Perlman SJ, Hunter MS, Zchori-Fein E (2006) The emerging diversity of Rickettsia. Proceedings. Biological sciences 273:2097–2106
Pinter A, Labruna MB (2006) Isolation of Rickettsia rickettsiiand Rickettsia belliiin cell culture from the tick Amblyomma aureolatumin Brazil. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1078:523–529
Pinter A, Dias RA, Gennari SM, Labruna MB (2004) Study of the seasonal dynamics, life cycle, and host specificity of Amblyomma aureolatum(Acari: Ixodidae). J Med Entomol 41:324–332
Piranda EM, Faccini JL, Pinter A, Pacheco RC, Cançado PH, Labruna MB (2011) Experimental infection of Rhipicephalus sanguineusticks with the bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii, using experimentally infected dogs. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 11:29–36
Plank SJ, Teixeira RS, Milanesi ML (1979) Febre maculosa em Salvador: descrição de um caso. Rev Med Bahia 25:330–334
Price WH (1954) The epidemiology of rocky mountain spotted fever. II. Studies on the biological survival mechanism of Rickettsia rickettsii. Am J Trop Med 19:103–108
Rodaniche EC (1953) Natural infection of the tick Amblyomma cajennensewith Rickettsia rickettsiiin Panama. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2:696–699
Rohr C (1909) Estudo sobre Ixódidas do Brasil. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, 220 pp
Roux V, Rydkina E, Eremeeva M, Rault D (1997) Citrate synthase gene comparison, a new tool for phylogenetic analysis and its application for the Rickettsiae. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 47:252–261
Sangioni LA et al (2005) Rickettsial infection in animals and Brazilian spotted fever endemicity. Emerg Infect Dis 11:265–270
Shirai A, Bozeman M, Perri S, Humphries JW, Fuller HS (1961) Ecology of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. I. Rickettsia rickettsiirecovered from a cottontail rabbit from Virginia. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med 107:211–214
Silva LJ, Galvão MAM (2004) Epidemiologia das rickettsioses do gênero Rickettsiano Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia Veterinária 13(Suppl.):197–198
Souza CE et al (2004) O papel da capivara Hydrochaeris hydrochaerisna cadeia epidemiológica da febre maculosa brasileira. Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia Veterinária 13(Suppl):203–205
Souza CE, Moraes-Filho J, Ogrzewalska M, Uchoa FC, Horta MC, Souza SS, Borba RC, Labruna MB (2009) Experimental infection of capybaras Hydrochoerus hydrochaerisby Rickettsia rickettsiiand evaluation of the transmission of the infection to ticks Amblyomma cajennense. Vet Parasitol 161:116–121
Travassos J, Vallejo A (1942) Comportamento de alguns cavídeos (Cavia apereae Hydrochoerus capybara) às inoculações experimentais do vírus da febre maculosa. Possibilidade desses cavídeos representarem o papel de depositários transitórios do vírus na natureza. Compt Rend Soc Biol 15:73–86
Weiss E, Moulder JW (1984) Bergey’s manual of systematic bacteriology. In: Kreig NR, Holt JG (eds) Bergey’s manual of systematic bacteriology, vol 1. Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore, pp 687–739
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Labruna, M.B. (2013). Brazilian Spotted Fever: The Role of Capybaras. In: Moreira, J., Ferraz, K., Herrera, E., Macdonald, D. (eds) Capybara. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4000-0_23
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4000-0_23
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-3999-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-4000-0
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)