Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Pampulha CEP 31270-901, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade, Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará, Campus Oriximiná, Rodovia PA-254, 257, Santíssimo, CEP 68270-000, Oriximiná, PA, Brazil.
J Helminthol. 2021 May 7;95:e25. doi: 10.1017/S0022149X21000158.
While much attention has been paid to vector-borne filariasis, diseases that threaten millions of people in tropical and subtropical countries, the literature on host-parasite associations and transmission strategies of filarial nematodes in wildlife is scarce. Here, we report the co-occurrence of chigger mites (Eutrombicula alfreddugesi) and onchocercid nematodes (Oswaldofilaria chabaudi) parasitizing the lizard Tropidurus torquatus in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Examination of chiggers established, for the first time, the occurrence of microfilariae in trombiculid mites (Trombiculidae). These larvae were morphologically similar to those recovered from adult females of O. chabaudi. The current evidence suggests that chiggers do not play a role in the transmission of filarioid nematodes, but rather act as accidental or dead-end hosts. Nevertheless, considering the polyphagous nature of trombiculid mites, similar to blood-sucking insects involved in the transmission of several infectious diseases, further studies may shed light on the potential role of chiggers as vectors of filarioids.
虽然人们对蚊媒传播的丝虫病（威胁热带和亚热带国家数百万人的疾病）给予了极大关注，但有关寄生虫与野生生物中丝状线虫的宿主-寄生虫关系和传播策略的文献却很少。在这里，我们报告了沙螨（Eutrombicula alfreddugesi）和盘尾丝虫线虫（Oswaldofilaria chabaudi）在巴西米纳斯吉拉斯州寄生蜥蜴 Tropidurus torquatus 的情况。对沙螨的检查首次确定了在恙螨（恙螨科）中存在微丝蚴。这些幼虫在形态上与从成年雌性 Oswaldofilaria chabaudi 中回收的幼虫相似。目前的证据表明，沙螨在丝虫线虫的传播中不起作用，而是作为偶然或死胡同宿主。然而，考虑到恙螨的多食性，类似于参与传播几种传染病的吸血昆虫，进一步的研究可能会揭示沙螨作为丝虫传播媒介的潜在作用。
