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Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz
ISSN: 1678-8060 EISSN: 1678-8060
Vol. 94, No. 3, 1999, pp. 315-322
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Bioline Code: oc99060
Full paper language: English
Document type: Research Article
Document available free of charge
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Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Vol. 94, No. 3, 1999, pp. 315-322
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Wild Birds as Hosts of Amblyomma cajennense (Fabricius, 1787) (Acari: Ixodidae)
Rosario Rojas; Miguel Ângelo Marini & Maria Teresa Zanatta Coutinho
Abstract
We evaluated the prevalence, mean intensity and relative density of ticks in 467 wild birds of 67 species (12 families) from forest and cerrado habitats at two protected areas of Minas Gerais, between March and September 1997. Ticks collected (n=177) were identified as larvae and nymphs of Amblyomma cajennense and four other species of Amblyomma. We report for the first time 28 bird species as hosts of the immature stages of A. cajennense, demonstrating the lack of host specificity of the larvae and nymphs. A. cajennense had 15% prevalence on birds, with a mean infestation intensity of 0.37 ticks per host sampled, and 2.5 ticks per infested bird. Prevalence varied in relation to host species, diet and between birds from forests at two successional stages. There were no differences in relation to
host forest dependence, participation in mixed flocks of birds, and nest type constructed. A. cajennense is a species of medical and veterinary importance, occurring on domestic animals but is
known little of its occurrence on wildlife.
Keywords
Amblyomma cajennense - birds - wild hosts - larvae - nymphs
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