Domestic dogs as host of ectoparasites carrying Rickettsia, Bartonella and Mycoplasma in urban, peri-urban and rural areas from center Argentina

ACOSTA, DIANA; ZANOCCO, FACUNDO; RUIZ, MELANIE; SANCHEZ, JULIANA P.

MASTOZOOLOGí­A NEOTROPICAL

UNIDAD DE ZOOLOGÍA Y ECOLOGÍA ANIMAL, INSTITUTO ARGENTINO DE INVESTIGACIÓN DE LAS ZONAS ARIDAS, CRICYT, CONICET

Lugar: Mendoza; Año: 2024

0327-9383

Domesticdog (Canis lupus familiaris) plays a vital role in transmitting zoonoticectoparasites and vector-borne pathogens, often being an important source of pathogensin spill over and spillback processes between domestic and wild animals. The aimof this study was analyzing the diversity and prevalence of ectoparasites andtheir associated bacteria, Rickettsia, Bartonella and Mycoplasma, in dogs fromurban, peri- urban and rural environments, from central Argentina. A total of180 dogs were examined, and 308 ectoparasites were collected. Diversity andprevalence (P) for environment were: Urban (Ptotal=78%) [Ctenocephalides felisfelis (P=78.1%);  Rickettsia felis(P=25%); Bartonella sp. (P=8.3%); Mycoplasma suis (P=8.3%)]; Peri-urban(Ptotal=83%) [C. felis felis (P=80%); Rhipicephalus sanguineus s. l. (P=20%);R. felis (P=19.2%); Bartonella sp. (P=25%); M. suis (P=3.8%)]; Rural (Ptotal=50%) [Pulex irritans(P=45.4%); R. sanguineus s. l. (P=15.1%); R. felis (P=7.4%); M. suis (P=8.7%)].These results presentnew insights into bacteria distribution across environments, emphasizing therole of dogs in their circulation. Pulex irritans, flea with the highestprevalence in foxes, exclusively found in the rural environment, supports the hypothesisthat wild and domestic sympatric carnivores share ectoparasite species. The detectionof M. suis for the first time in all analyzed ectoparasite species and environmentsraises questions regarding the potential reservoir role of dogs for this pathogen.Furthermore, it suggests that dogs infested with ectoparasites may be exposed toan unknown range of potentially invasive vector-borne pathogens. These findingsreinforce the importance of parasitological and epidemiological studies indomestic mammals under the “One Health” paradigm.