Ticks from the Brazilian Amazon: Species, Distribution and Host-Relations

Ticks are important ectoparasites and can transmit a wide variety of pathogens to animals and humans worldwide. These ectoparasites are the most important vectors of diseases causing pathogens in domestic and wild animals, and the second for man. In Brazil, Spotted Fever is the only disease transmitted to humans by ticks, while for animals we can highlight babesiosis, ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis. Although ticks are found in all of Brazil’s biomes, little is known about its diversity and host-relations in the Amazon biome. The existing gaps and the lack of research indicate that the diversity of ticks and their possible pathogens are underestimated in the Brazilian Amazon. Therefore, in order to guide the next studies in the Amazon biome, we present in this chapter a compilation of the records of hard ticks and soft ticks parasitizing wild and domestic animals, and humans. We present the general list of ticks for this biome, their distribution, hosts and importance for public health and veterinary. Finally, the ixodofauna found in the Brazilian Amazon and presented here does not match the vertebrate diversity of this biome, which is one of the largest on the planet. Therefore, more acarologists and epidemiologists are needed in this region

Azimuthal anisotropy of charged jet production in root s(NN)=2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions

We present measurements of the azimuthal dependence of charged jet production in central and semi-central root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions with respect to the second harmonic event plane, quantified as nu(ch)(2) (jet). Jet finding is performed employing the anti-k(T) algorithm with a resolution parameter R = 0.2 using charged tracks from the ALICE tracking system. The contribution of the azimuthal anisotropy of the underlying event is taken into account event-by-event. The remaining (statistical) region-to-region fluctuations are removed on an ensemble basis by unfolding the jet spectra for different event plane orientations independently. Significant non-zero nu(ch)(2) (jet) is observed in semi-central collisions (30-50% centrality) for 20 <p(T)(ch) (jet) <90 GeV/c. The azimuthal dependence of the charged jet production is similar to the dependence observed for jets comprising both charged and neutral fragments, and compatible with measurements of the nu(2) of single charged particles at high p(T). Good agreement between the data and predictions from JEWEL, an event generator simulating parton shower evolution in the presence of a dense QCD medium, is found in semi-central collisions. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Peer reviewe

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Pseudorapidity and transverse-momentum distributions of charged particles in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

The pseudorapidity (eta) and transverse-momentum (p(T)) distributions of charged particles produced in proton-proton collisions are measured at the centre-of-mass energy root s = 13 TeV. The pseudorapidity distribution in vertical bar eta vertical bar <1.8 is reported for inelastic events and for events with at least one charged particle in vertical bar eta vertical bar <1. The pseudorapidity density of charged particles produced in the pseudorapidity region vertical bar eta vertical bar <0.5 is 5.31 +/- 0.18 and 6.46 +/- 0.19 for the two event classes, respectively. The transverse-momentum distribution of charged particles is measured in the range 0.15 <p(T) <20 GeV/c and vertical bar eta vertical bar <0.8 for events with at least one charged particle in vertical bar eta vertical bar <1. The evolution of the transverse momentum spectra of charged particles is also investigated as a function of event multiplicity. The results are compared with calculations from PYTHIA and EPOS Monte Carlo generators. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Peer reviewe

Novel Viruses Found in Antricola Ticks Collected in Bat Caves in the Western Amazonia of Brazil

In this study, we describe the viral composition of adult Antricola delacruzi ticks collected in a hot bat cave in the state of Rondonia, Western Amazonia, Brazil. A. delacruzi ticks, are special, compared to many other ticks, in that they feed on both bats (larval blood feeding) and bat guano (nymphal and adult feeding) instead of feeding exclusively on vertebrate hosts (blood feeding). Considering this unique life-cycle it is potentially possible that these ticks can pick up/be infected by viruses not only present in the blood of viremic bats but also by virus shed through the bat guano. The viral metagenomic investigation of adult ticks showed that single-stranded negative-sense RNA viruses were the dominant group of viruses identified in the investigated ticks. Out of these, members of the Nairoviridae family were in clear majority constituting 88% of all viral reads in the data set. Genetic and phylogenetic analyses indicate the presence of several different orthonairoviruses in the investigated ticks with only distant relationship to previously described ones. In addition, identification of viral sequences belonging to Orthomyxoviridae, Iflaviridae, Dicistroviridae, Polycipiviridae, Reoviridae and different unclassified RNA viruses showed the presence of viruses with low sequence similarity to previously described viruses

Isosporoid Coccidia (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) parasites of tanagers (Passeriformes: Thraupidae) from the Marambaia Island, Brazil

In recent years some coccidian parasites of birds were recorded in Marambaia Island, which is a protected environment with a great biodiversity of birds, mainly tanagers. In this current study Isospora tiesangui, I. sepetibensis, I. ramphoceli, I. navarroi, I. cadimi and I. marambaiensis were identified according to their respective thraupid hosts of the Marambaia Island. These species were characterized with histograms, linear regression and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The main feature of identification was the morphology of the sporocyst, mainly Stieda and substieda bodies, since the morphometry did not provide sufficient differentiation. Besides, Dacnis cayana and Thraupis palmarum were reported as new hosts to I. sepetibensis and I. navarroi respectively

Novel Viruses Found in Antricola Ticks Collected in Bat Caves in the Western Amazonia of Brazil

In this study, we describe the viral composition of adult Antricola delacruzi ticks collected in a hot bat cave in the state of Rond&ocirc;nia, Western Amazonia, Brazil. A. delacruzi ticks, are special, compared to many other ticks, in that they feed on both bats (larval blood feeding) and bat guano (nymphal and adult feeding) instead of feeding exclusively on vertebrate hosts (blood feeding). Considering this unique life-cycle it is potentially possible that these ticks can pick up/be infected by viruses not only present in the blood of viremic bats but also by virus shed through the bat guano. The viral metagenomic investigation of adult ticks showed that single-stranded negative-sense RNA viruses were the dominant group of viruses identified in the investigated ticks. Out of these, members of the Nairoviridae family were in clear majority constituting 88% of all viral reads in the data set. Genetic and phylogenetic analyses indicate the presence of several different orthonairoviruses in the investigated ticks with only distant relationship to previously described ones. In addition, identification of viral sequences belonging to Orthomyxoviridae, Iflaviridae, Dicistroviridae, Polycipiviridae, Reoviridae and different unclassified RNA viruses showed the presence of viruses with low sequence similarity to previously described viruses

Distribution modeling of Amblyomma rotundatum and Amblyomma dissimile in Brazil: estimates of environmental suitability

The number of reports of tick parasitism in amphibians and reptiles has increased over the past few years, including new host and location records for Amblyomma rotundatum and Amblyomma dissimile. However, knowledge of the geographical distribution remains incomplete, and in many regions of Brazil, the presence of these vectors has not been investigated. Several candidate models were built using a correlative maximum entropy approach, and best-fitting models were selected based on statistical significance, predictive ability, and complexity based on current climatic trends and future projected climate changes. Final models showed a good ability to discriminate A. rotundatum and A. dissimile current and future potential distributions. The entire country had higher predicted suitability for A. rotundatum while A. dissimile was mainly restricted to the Amazon and Pantanal biomes. A. rotundatum is a species with enormous potential for dissemination in the next decades, potentially through the legal and illegal transport of reptiles and amphibians. The proposed model is useful for targeting surveillance efforts increasing the efficiency and accuracy of future ecological research and tick management efforts

A human case of spotted fever caused by rickettsia parkeri strain atlantic rainforest and its association to the tick amblyomma ovale

Rickettsia parkeri strain Atlantic rainforest has emerged in Brazil during the last 10 years, with three laboratory-confirmed human cases. While these cases were epidemiologically associated with the tick Amblyomma ovale, in none of them the tick specimens that bit the patients could be identified. We report a clinical case of spotted fever rickettsiosis that was acquired in an Atlantic forest area in Bahia state, northeast Brazil. The case was determined to be caused by R. parkeri strain Atlantic rainforest, based on molecular analysis of the crust removed from the tick bite site (inoculation eschar) of the patients’ skin. DNA extracted from the crust yielded partial sequences of three rickettsial genes (gltA, ompA and ompB), which were 99–100% identical to R. parkeri strain Atlantic rainforest. The tick specimen that was attached to patient skin was identified as a female of A. ovale. We report the fourth confirmed case of spotted fever rickettsiosis caused by R. parkeri strain Atlantic rainforest, providing to our knowledge for the first time, direct evidence of R. parkeri strain Atlantic rainforest transmission by A. ovale121CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESP305872/2013-30012018/02521-