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Silva-de la Fuente MC, Stekolnikov AA, Weitzel T, Beltrami E, Martínez-Valdebenito C, Abarca K, Acosta-Jamett G. Chigger Mites (Acariformes: Trombiculidae) of Chiloé Island, Chile, With Descriptions of Two New Species and New Data on the Genus Herpetacarus. JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY 2021; 58:646-657. [PMID: 33300548 DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjaa258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Three species of chigger mites are recorded in our collections from four species of cricetid rodents on Chiloé Island (southern Chile, Los Lagos Region), an area endemic to scrub typhus (Orientia sp.). Two species are described as new-Herpetacarus (Abonnencia) eloisae sp. nov. and Quadraseta chiloensis sp. nov. One species, Paratrombicula goffiStekolnikov and González-Acuña 2012, is for the first time recorded on a mammal host (one species of cricetid rodent), and its distribution is extended to the Los Lagos Region of Chile. The genus ProschoengastiaVercammen-Grandjean, 1967 is synonymized with the subgenus Herpetacarus (Abonnencia)Vercammen-Grandjean, 1960, and four new combinations are established: Herpetacarus (Abonnencia) herniosa (Brennan and Jones, 1961), comb. nov., Herpetacarus (Abonnencia) insolita (Brennan and Jones, 1961), comb. nov., Herpetacarus (Abonnencia) macrochaeta (Brennan and Jones, 1961), comb. nov., and Herpetacarus (Abonnencia) antarctica (Stekolnikov and Gonzalez-Acuña, 2015), comb. nov.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Thomas Weitzel
- Laboratorio Clínico, Clínica Alemana, Facultad de Medicina Clínica Alemana, Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
- Hantavirus and Zoonoses Program, Instituto de Ciencias e Innovación en Medicina (ICIM), Facultad de Medicina Clínica Alemana, Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
| | - Esperanza Beltrami
- Instituto de Medicina Preventiva Veterinaria, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
- Escuela de Graduados, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
| | - Constanza Martínez-Valdebenito
- Laboratorio de Infectología y Virología Molecular, Red Salud UC-Christus, Santiago, Chile
- Departamento de Enfermedades Infecciosas e Inmunología Pediátricas, Escuela de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Katia Abarca
- Departamento de Enfermedades Infecciosas e Inmunología Pediátricas, Escuela de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Millennium Institute on Immunology and Immunotherapy, Escuela de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Gerardo Acosta-Jamett
- Instituto de Medicina Preventiva Veterinaria, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
- Programa de Investigación Aplicada en Fauna Silvestre, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
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de Castro Jacinavicius F, Bassini-Silva R, Huang-Bastos M, Horta MC, Barros-Battesti DM. New Species of Chiggers (Trombidiformes: Trombiculidae and Leeuwenhoekiidae) From the Conservation Unit Parque Nacional da Serra das Confusões, Brazil. JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ENTOMOLOGY 2021; 58:286-297. [PMID: 32940331 DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjaa178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The Piauí State, Brazil, has never had its chigger fauna recorded. In this study, we examined chiggers collected on marsupials, rodents, and lizards from the conservation unit Parque Nacional da Serra das Confusões (PNSC). Herein we describe four new species, Paraguacarus klompenin. sp., Neoschoengastia ochoain. sp., Quadraseta welbournin. sp., and Susa bauchanin. sp. Furthermore, an additional seven species are reported: Eutrombicula alfreddugesi (Oudemans, 1910), Microtrombicula brachytrichiaBrennan, 1971, Microtrombicula rhipidomysiGoff, Whitaker and Dietz, 1983, Parascoschoengastia aemulata (Brennan and Jones, 1964), Parasecia validaBrennan, 1969, Pseudochoengastia petrolinensis Jacinavicius, Bassini-Silva and Barros-Battesti 2019, and Quadraseta flochi (Brennan and Jones, 1960). This is the first report of chiggers in Piauí State, which includes one of the most biodiverse areas in the Caatinga biome and is of particular importance to conservation. The genera Paraguacarus Goff and Whitaker, 1984 and Susa Audy and Nadcharam, 1960 are reported here for the first time to Brazil.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernando de Castro Jacinavicius
- Laboratório Especial de Coleções Zoológicas, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
- Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva e Saúde Animal, FMVZ-USP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Ricardo Bassini-Silva
- Laboratório Especial de Coleções Zoológicas, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
- Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva e Saúde Animal, FMVZ-USP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Matheus Huang-Bastos
- Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva e Saúde Animal, FMVZ-USP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Maurício Claudio Horta
- Laboratório de Doenças Parasitárias, Campus de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco, Petrolina, PE, Brazil
| | - Darci Moraes Barros-Battesti
- Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva e Saúde Animal, FMVZ-USP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
- Departamento de Patologia Veterinária, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias-UNESP, Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil
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Acosta-Jamett G, Martínez-Valdebenito C, Beltrami E, Silva-de La Fuente MC, Jiang J, Richards AL, Weitzel T, Abarca K. Identification of trombiculid mites (Acari: Trombiculidae) on rodents from Chiloé Island and molecular evidence of infection with Orientia species. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2020; 14:e0007619. [PMID: 31971956 PMCID: PMC6999909 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2019] [Revised: 02/04/2020] [Accepted: 12/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Scrub typhus is an emerging vector-borne zoonosis, caused by Orientia spp. and transmitted by larvae of trombiculid mites, called chiggers. It mainly occurs within a region of the Asia-Pacific called the tsutsugamushi triangle, where rodents are known as the most relevant hosts for the trombiculid vector. However, the reservoir(s) and vector(s) of the scrub typhus outside Asia-Pacific are unknown. The disease has recently been discovered on and is considered endemic for Chiloé Island in southern Chile. The aim of the present work was to detect and determine the prevalence of chiggers on different rodent species captured in probable sites for the transmission of orientiae responsible for scrub typhus on Chiloé Island in southern Chile and to molecularly examine collected chiggers for the presence of Orientia DNA. Methodology/Principal findings During the austral summer 2018, rodents were live-trapped in six sites and examined for chigger infestation. All study sites were rural areas on Chiloé Island, previously identified as probable localities where human cases acquired the scrub typhus. During a total of 4,713 trap-nights, 244 rodents of seven species were captured: the most abundant was Abrothrix olivacea. Chiggers were detected on all seven rodent species with a 55% prevalence rate. Chiggers showed low host specificity and varied according to site specific host abundance. Three genera of trombiculids were identified. Herpetacarus was the most abundant genus (93%), prevalent in five of the six sites. Infestation rates showed site specific differences, which were statistically significant using a GLM model with binomial errors. Molecular analyses proved that 21 of 133 (15.8%) mite pools were positive for Orientia species, all of them belonged to the genus Herpetacarus. Conclusions/Significance This study firstly reports the presence of different rodent-associated chigger mites positive for Orientia sp., in a region endemic for scrub typhus in southern Chile. Herpetacarus and two other genera of mites were found with high infestation rates of rodents in sites previously identified as probable exposure of scrub typhus cases. A substantial percentage of mite pools were positive for Orientia DNA, suggesting that chigger mites serve as vectors and reservoirs of this emerging zoonosis in South America. Scrub typhus is a chigger-transmitted zoonotic infection caused by Orientia species, which is endemic to the tsutsugamushi triangle in Asia-Pacific region. Recently, a focus of scrub typhus in South America has been confirmed on Chiloé Island in southern Chile. However, the vectors of scrub typhus in this region remain unknown. We undertook a survey to study the presence of chiggers on different rodent species in areas identified as probable sites of exposure to scrub typhus on Chiloé Island. The study showed that 55% of rodents were infested by trombiculids. Three mite genera were identified, of which Herpetacarus was the most abundant. Chiggers showed low host specificity, but spatial differences. Using molecular techniques, the trombiculid mites were found to be infected with Orientia species. These findings suggest that chigger mites play a role in the life cycle and transmission of this emerging infectious disease in Chile.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerardo Acosta-Jamett
- Instituto de Medicina Preventiva Veterinaria, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
- Programa de Investigación Aplicada en Fauna Silvestre, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
| | - Constanza Martínez-Valdebenito
- Departamento de Enfermedades Infecciosas e Inmunología Pediátricas, Escuela de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Laboratorio de Infectología y Virología Molecular, Red Salud UC–Christus, Santiago, Chile
| | - Esperanza Beltrami
- Instituto de Medicina Preventiva Veterinaria, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
- Escuela de Graduados, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile
| | - María Carolina Silva-de La Fuente
- Departamento de Ciencias Animal, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
- Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Veterinarias, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad de Concepción, Chillán, Chile
- Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria, Universidad San Sebastián, Concepción, Chile
| | - Ju Jiang
- Viral and Rickettsial Diseases Department, Naval Medical Research Center, Silver Spring, MD, United States of America
| | - Allen L. Richards
- Department of Preventive Medicine and Biostatistics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, United States of America
| | - Thomas Weitzel
- Laboratorio Clínico, Clínica Alemana de Santiago, Facultad de Medicina Clínica Alemana, Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
- Hantavirus and Zoonoses Program, Instituto de Ciencias e Innovación en Medicina (ICIM), Facultad de Medicina Clínica Alemana, Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
- * E-mail: (TW); (KA)
| | - Katia Abarca
- Departamento de Enfermedades Infecciosas e Inmunología Pediátricas, Escuela de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Millennium Institute on Immunology and Immunotherapy, Escuela de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
- * E-mail: (TW); (KA)
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Jacinavicius FDC, Bassini-Silva R, Mendoza-Roldan JA, Pepato AR, Ochoa R, Welbourn C, Barros-Battesti DM. A checklist of chiggers from Brazil, including new records (Acari: Trombidiformes: Trombiculidae and Leeuwenhoekiidae). Zookeys 2018:1-41. [PMID: 29670435 PMCID: PMC5904395 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.743.22675] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2017] [Accepted: 01/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
A checklist of the family Trombiculidae and Leeuwenhoekiidae is presented, containing 63 species in 30 genera of chiggers from 80 different hosts and 146 localities in Brazil. The type locality and depository are provided, including new locality and host records for the country.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernando de Castro Jacinavicius
- Laboratório Especial de Coleções Zoológicas, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP; Brazil.,Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva e Saúde Animal, FMVZ-USP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Ricardo Bassini-Silva
- Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva e Saúde Animal, FMVZ-USP, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | | | - Almir Rogério Pepato
- Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Ronald Ochoa
- Systematic Entomology Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD, USA
| | - Cal Welbourn
- Florida State Collection of Arthropods, Division of Plant Industry, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Darci Moraes Barros-Battesti
- Departamento de Patologia Veterinária, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias-UNESP, Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil
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A revision of the chigger mite genus Paratrombicula Goff & Whitaker, 1984 (Acari: Trombiculidae), with the description of two new species. Syst Parasitol 2012; 83:105-15. [DOI: 10.1007/s11230-012-9373-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2012] [Accepted: 05/11/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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