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

• Main Authors: Adriana Akemi Kuniy, Ciro Antônio Dias, Celso de Souza, Francisco Conrado de Mendonça Uchoa, Thaís Guimarães Luiz, Monicque Silva Pereira, Débora Bonilha Vasquez, Marcello Schiavo Nardi, Priscila Machion Leonis, Vitor Arruda, Sóstenes Pelegrini, Harley Sebastião da Silva, Leandro Godoy, Thiago Macek Gonçalves Zahn
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade de São Paulo 2019-03-01
• Series: Brazilian Journal of Veterinary Research and Animal Science
• Subjects: Rickettsia rickettsii; Ticks; Amblyomma sculptum; Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris; Public health risk
• Online Access: http://www.revistas.usp.br/bjvras/article/view/143159
• ISSN: 1413-9596; 1678-4456

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.