TY  - JOUR
T1  - Spotted fever group Rickettsia and Babesia odocoilei in hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) from wild areas in Panama
AU  - Bermudez Castillero, Sergio
AU  - Félix, María
AU  - Dominguez, Lillian
AU  - Venzal, José
PY  - 2025
DA  - July
Y2  - 2025
DO  - 10.47121/acarolstud.1726467
JF  - Acarological Studies
JO  - Acarol. Stud.
PB  - Salih DOĞAN
WT  - DergiPark
SN  - 2667-5684
SP  - 101
EP  - 110
VL  - 7
IS  - 2
LA  - en
AB  - This study evaluated the presence of Rickettsia, Anaplasmataceae, Borrelia and Piroplasmida in Amblyomma and Ixodes spp. ticks from wild areas of Panama. Molecular detection of pathogens was performed on the following species of ticks: Amblyomma dissimile, Amblyomma mixtum, Amblyomma naponense, Amblyomma cf. oblongoguttatum, Amblyomma ovale, Amblyomma tapirellum, Haemaphysalis juxtakochi, Ixodes affinis, and Ixodes sp. nymphs. Partial sequences of Ixodes nymphs with the 16S rRNA gene showed low similarity to other Ixodes species. We found evidence of DNA from Rickettsia spp. in A. mixtum (R. amblyommatis), A. dissimile (“Candidatus R. colombianensi”), I. affinis (Rickettsia sp.), and Babesia odocolei in I. affinis. No evidence of DNA from the target microorganisms was detected in A. naponense, A. cf. oblongoguttatum, A. ovale, A. tapirellum, H. juxtakochi, or Ixodes sp. This is the first report of B. odocolei in I. affinis, which represents an additional risk of zoonosis. The detection of Rickettsia spp. corroborates previous findings in Panama. Finally, this study was crucial to determine a putative new species of Ixodes, from two nymph feeding on human.
KW  - Ixodidae
KW  - Rickettsia spp.
KW  - Babesia odocoilei
KW  - wild environments
KW  - Panama
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UR  - https://doi.org/10.47121/acarolstud.1726467
L1  - https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/4987772
ER  -