Ornithodoros brasiliensis explained

Ornithodoros brasiliensis is a species of tick in the family Argasidae, or soft-bodied ticks, that occurs exclusively in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.^[1] O. brasiliensis is a known parasite of humans, dogs, and smaller mammals such as armadillos and skunks.^[2]

Life cycle

O. brasiliensis hatches from an egg into its larval state. The larval stage does not need to feed, and molts to a nymphal stage after roughly a week. The nymph will seek to feed within two days of molting, noticeably faster than other ticks in the genus Ornithodoros. ^[3] The ticks will progress through a total of 4-7 nymphal stages, spending roughly 30 days in each stage, before developing into adults.

Effects on host

Tick toxicosis

O. brasiliensis, like many other ticks, causes tick toxicosis in its host at the location of the bite. Tick toxicosis includes all of the non-infectious complications following a tick bite, caused by compounds found in the tick's saliva. O. brasiliensis bites have been observed to vary widely in their intensity of symptoms on a case-by-case basis. The symptoms include: slow healing lesions, blistering, localized swelling, muscle and cell degradation, and pruritus.^[4] Symptoms from these bites have been reported to last as long as 20 weeks after the occurrence of the bite.

Vector transmission

O. brasiliensis has been proven capable of carrying the microorganism Borrelia brasiliensis, a source of Lyme disease, in laboratory conditions, but no cases of vector transmission in the wild have been reported.

Notes and References

1. Ramirez. Diego Garcia. Landulfo. Gabriel Alves. Onofrio. Valeria Castilho. Simons. Simone Michaela. Reck. José. Martins. João Ricardo. Labruna. Marcelo Bahia. Barros-Battesti. Darci Moraes. 2016-07-01. Laboratory life cycle of Ornithodoros brasiliensis (Acari: Argasidae): An endemic tick from southern Brazil. Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases. en. 7. 5. 730–733. 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2016.03.001. 26972686. 1877-959X.
2. Reck. José. Marks. Fernanda S.. Guimarães. Jorge A.. Termignoni. Carlos. Martins. João Ricardo. 2013-02-01. Epidemiology of Ornithodoros brasiliensis (mouro tick) in the southern Brazilian highlands and the description of human and animal retrospective cases of tick parasitism. Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases. en. 4. 1. 101–109. 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2012.09.004. 23238249. 1877-959X.
3. Davis. Gordon E.. 1952. Observations on the Biology of the Argasid Tick, Ornithodoros brasiliensis Aragão, 1923, with the Recovery of a Spirochete, Borrelia brasiliensis, n. sp.. The Journal of Parasitology. 38. 5. 473–476. 10.2307/3273927. 3273927. 12991141. 0022-3395.
4. Dall’Agnol. Bruno. Schott. Diogo. Padilha. Thamiris. Antunes. Paola. Souza. Ugo A.. Webster. Anelise. Souza. Getúlio D.. Ferreira. Carlos Alexandre S.. Reck. José. 2019-12-01. Clinical Findings Associated with Ornithodoros brasiliensis Tick Parasitism in Travelers, Southern Brazil. Wilderness & Environmental Medicine. English. 30. 4. 437–440. 10.1016/j.wem.2019.06.012. 1080-6032. 31685323. free. 10923/18028. free.