Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência Animal Tropical (PPGCAT), Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (UFRPE), CEP 52171-900 Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil; Laboratório de Parasitologia (LAPAR), Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (UFRPE), CEP 52171-900 Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.
Laboratório de Parasitologia (LAPAR), Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (UFRPE), CEP 52171-900 Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.
Vet Parasitol Reg Stud Reports. 2021 Jan;23:100503. doi: 10.1016/j.vprsr.2020.100503. Epub 2020 Dec 3.
Due to the degradation and loss of its natural habitat, the presence of capybaras in urban environments and crop areas has been frequently reported in various regions of Brazil. The objective of this study was to identify the parasitic fauna of free-living capybaras in two impacted biomes of the northeastern region (Atlantic Forest and Caatinga), as well as to evaluate the impact of parasitism on the health of these rodents. For this, ticks, fecal and blood samples (for hematology and serum biochemistry evaluation) were collected from 23 free-ranging capybaras from four areas of Atlantic Forest (areas 1, 2 and 3) and Caatinga (area 4) biomes. Of the 23 animals with parasites, 73.9% (17/23) were parasitized simultaneously by gastrointestinal parasites (GIP) (Strongylida, Strongyloides chapini, Capillaria sp., Trematoda and Eimeria sp.) and Amblyomma ticks (larvae of Amblyomma sp. - areas 1, 2, and 3; Amblyomma dubitatum - areas 1 and 2; A. sculptum - areas 3 and 4), while 26.1% (6/23) were parasitized exclusively by ticks. The trematode Hippocrepis hippocrepis was collected during the necropsy of one animal that died during the study. Most hematological and serum biochemical parameters were within the reference values for the species, except AST, albumin, urea, and Na, which presented higher values. Some parameters presented statistically significant differences associated with parasitism, with higher values for animals with co-infection (GIP and ticks) than animals parasitized by ticks only: leukocyte counts (p = 0.0332), neutrophils (p = 0.0498), monocytes (p = 0.0443), as well as creatinine (p = 0.0422) and lactate (p = 0.0307). This may mean that the GIP identified in this study can have a greater impact on the hematological and serum biochemical parameters. However, although parasitized and living in threatened biomes, the animals were healthy, demonstrating that they could be adapted to parasitism. Amblyomma sculptum was recorded for the first time in capybaras in the Caatinga biome in Pernambuco state. The presence of A. sculptum evidences the need for studies about the infection by Rickettsia on capybaras and their ticks, to provide data on the potential risk of occurrence of Brazilian Spotted Fever in Pernambuco state, within a One Health perspective.
由于其自然栖息地的退化和丧失，水豚在巴西各地的城市环境和作物区的存在已被频繁报道。本研究的目的是确定东北部两个受影响生物群系（大西洋森林和卡廷加）中自由放养水豚的寄生动物群，以及评估寄生虫对这些啮齿动物健康的影响。为此，从四个大西洋森林地区（区域 1、2 和 3）和卡廷加生物群（区域 4）的 23 只自由放养的水豚中收集了蜱虫、粪便和血液样本（用于血液学和血清生化评估）。在 23 只感染寄生虫的动物中，73.9%（17/23）同时被胃肠道寄生虫（GIP）（Strongylida、Strongyloides chapini、Capillaria sp.、吸虫和 Eimeria sp.）和 Amblyomma 蜱虫（幼虫 Amblyomma sp. - 区域 1、2 和 3； Amblyomma dubitatum - 区域 1 和 2；A. sculptum - 区域 3 和 4）寄生，而 26.1%（6/23）仅被蜱虫寄生。在研究期间死亡的一只动物的剖检中收集了吸虫 Hippocrepis hippocrepis。大多数血液学和血清生化参数都在该物种的参考值范围内，除了 AST、白蛋白、尿素和 Na，它们的值较高。一些参数与寄生虫感染相关呈现出统计学上的显著差异，与仅感染蜱虫的动物相比，合并感染（GIP 和蜱虫）的动物的白细胞计数（p=0.0332）、嗜中性粒细胞（p=0.0498）、单核细胞（p=0.0443）以及肌酐（p=0.0422）和乳酸（p=0.0307）更高。这可能意味着本研究中鉴定的 GIP 可能对血液学和血清生化参数有更大的影响。然而，尽管这些动物受到寄生虫的感染并生活在受到威胁的生物群系中，但它们仍然健康，这表明它们可能已经适应了寄生虫的感染。首次在伯南布哥州的卡廷加生物群系中记录到 Amblyomma sculptum 在水豚身上。A. sculptum 的存在表明需要研究水豚及其蜱虫感染立克次体的情况，以便在“同一健康”视角下为伯南布哥州巴西斑点热的潜在发生风险提供数据。
