Epidemiological Study of the Occurrence of Typhus Group <i>Rickettsia</i> Natural Infection in Domiciliated Dogs from a Rural Community in South-Eastern Mexico
Marco Torres-Castro,
Enrique Reyes-Novelo,
Manuel Bolio-González,
Cesar Lugo-Caballero,
Karla Dzul-Rosado,
Pablo Colunga-Salas,
Sokani Sánchez-Montes,
Henry Noh-Pech,
Fernando I. Puerto,
Roger Iván Rodríguez-Vivas
Affiliations
Marco Torres-Castro
Laboratorio de Enfermedades Emergentes y Reemergentes, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales “Dr. Hideyo Noguchi”, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida 97000, Mexico
Enrique Reyes-Novelo
Laboratorio de Zoonosis y otras Enfermedades Transmitidas por Vector, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales “Dr. Hideyo Noguchi”, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida 97000, Mexico
Manuel Bolio-González
Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Campus de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida 97100, Mexico
Cesar Lugo-Caballero
Laboratorio de Enfermedades Emergentes y Reemergentes, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales “Dr. Hideyo Noguchi”, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida 97000, Mexico
Karla Dzul-Rosado
Laboratorio de Enfermedades Emergentes y Reemergentes, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales “Dr. Hideyo Noguchi”, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida 97000, Mexico
Pablo Colunga-Salas
Instituto de Biotecnología y Ecología Aplicada, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa Enríquez, Veracruz 91090, Mexico
Sokani Sánchez-Montes
Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Región Tuxpan, Universidad Veracruzana, Túxpan de Rodríguez Cano, Veracruz 92870, Mexico
Henry Noh-Pech
Laboratorio de Enfermedades Emergentes y Reemergentes, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales “Dr. Hideyo Noguchi”, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida 97000, Mexico
Fernando I. Puerto
Laboratorio de Enfermedades Emergentes y Reemergentes, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales “Dr. Hideyo Noguchi”, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida 97000, Mexico
Roger Iván Rodríguez-Vivas
Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Campus de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida 97100, Mexico
The aim is to describe the Typhus group (TG) Rickettsia infection in dogs and to identify factors associated with this infection. We collected blood samples and gathered exposure and clinical data of 142 dogs from a rural community of Yucatan. The Rickettsia group was determined by semi-nested PCR. Generalized linear models with binomial error distribution were used to model the associated factors from the dog sample for risk ratio (RR) estimation. Thirty-four dogs (23.9%) showed molecular evidence of TG Rickettsia DNA. The multivariate model showed that mixed-breed dogs (RR = 0.06) and dogs that had received antiparasitic treatment (RR = 0.049) had a lower risk of getting infected, taking as reference the purebred group and the non-treated dogs, respectively. Looking at variable interactions, adult dogs without outdoor activities had a lower infection risk than puppies (RR = 0.26). Among dogs with antiparasitic treatment, females had a higher infection risk than male dogs (RR = 26.2). The results showed enzootic TG Rickettsia circulation in dogs of a rural community. The factors outdoor activities, age and previous antiparasitic treatment, as well as the clinical variables signs of hemorrhages and epistaxis, were associated with a less chance of natural infection in the studied dogs. Prevention and control of the enzootic transmission risk of TG Rickettsia should help to reduce the potential zoonotic transmission of this pathogen.