Removal of Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) population as measure to control Amblyomma tick population and reduce Brazilian Spotted Fever transmission risk in a Gated Community in Bragança Paulista (SP, Brazil) – Case Study

Authors

  • Adriana Akemi Kuniy JGP Consultoria e Participações Ltda.
  • Ciro Antônio Dias Residencial Quinta da Baroneza
  • Celso de Souza Secretaria de Estado da Saúde – Superintendência de Controle de Endemias (SUCEN)
  • Francisco Conrado de Mendonça Uchoa Secretaria de Estado da Saúde – Superintendência de Controle de Endemias (SUCEN),
  • Thaís Guimarães Luiz Secretaria do Meio Ambiente do Estado de São Paulo – Coordenadoria de Biodiversidade e Recursos Naturais, Departamento de Fauna Silvestre
  • Monicque Silva Pereira Secretaria do Meio Ambiente do Estado de São Paulo – Coordenadoria de Biodiversidade e Recursos Naturais, Departamento de Fauna Silvestre
  • Débora Bonilha Vasquez Residencial Quinta da Baroneza
  • Marcello Schiavo Nardi JGP Consultoria e Participações Ltda, Departamento de Fauna Terrestre
  • Priscila Machion Leonis JGP Consultoria e Participações Ltda, Departamento de Fauna Terrestre
  • Vitor Arruda JGP Consultoria e Participações Ltda, Departamento de Fauna Terrestre
  • Sóstenes Pelegrini JGP Consultoria e Participações Ltda, Departamento de Fauna Terrestre
  • Harley Sebastião da Silva JGP Consultoria e Participações Ltda, Departamento de Fauna Terrestre
  • Leandro Godoy JGP Consultoria e Participações Ltda, Departamento de Fauna Terrestre
  • Thiago Macek Gonçalves Zahn Universidade de São Paulo, Instituto de Biociências, Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva; Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas, Departamento de Linguística

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.1678-4456.bjvras.2018.143159

Keywords:

Rickettsia rickettsii, Ticks, Amblyomma sculptum, Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris, Public health risk

Abstract

This study reports the factors which led a gated community located in Bragança Paulista (SP, Brazil), a non-endemic area for Brazilian Spotted Fever (BSF), to be classified as a Risk Area for transmission of this disease, showing that an increasing resident population of capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) in the area was likely responsible for a proliferation of Amblyomma sculptum ticks and acted as an amplifying host for Rickettsia rickettsii, the main etiologic agent of BSF. We report management actions proposed to control the local tick burden and reduce BSF risk, including measures to control parasitic and free-living tick populations and exclusion of the resident capybara population. Analyses of tick population data and R. rickettsii serology tests indicate that these measures were effective, greatly reducing the environmental burden of Amblyomma sculptum ticks and reducing the BSF transmission risk at the area.

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Published

2019-03-01

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Section

FULL ARTICLE

How to Cite

Removal of Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) population as measure to control Amblyomma tick population and reduce Brazilian Spotted Fever transmission risk in a Gated Community in Bragança Paulista (SP, Brazil) – Case Study. (2019). Brazilian Journal of Veterinary Research and Animal Science, 55(4), e143159. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.1678-4456.bjvras.2018.143159