Search for protozoa of the phylum Apicomplexa in hard ticks and synanthropic animals from a protected urban area of Buenos Aires City (Argentina)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63207/ai.v9i17.193Keywords:
Apicomplexa, Colpoda, ticks, Buenos Aires CityAbstract
Tick-borne protozoa of the phylum Apicomplexa (TBA) include parasites from the orders Piroplasmida (such as Babesia, Theileria, and Cytauxzoon) and Eucoccidiorida (such as Hepatozoon). In Argentina, some TBA have been reported in domestic animals and ticks, although information is limited and almost nonexistent for wildlife. The aim of this study was to detect TBA in synanthropic animals and ticks from the Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur (Buenos Aires City) between 2011 and 2019. Fifty rodents, fifty birds, and 1201 ticks were analyzed using PCR for a variable fragment of the 18S rRNA gene of Apicomplexa; these primers also detect protozoa from other phyla. All bird and rodent samples tested negative, while a pool of Ixodes rio larvae was positive. The sequence corresponded to a protozoan from the phylum Ciliophora, genus Colpoda, whose relevance as a pathogen is unknown.
In conclusion, no evidence of tick-borne apicomplexan protozoa was found in this protected urban area. However, given the importance of these parasites to human and animal health, and the scarcity of data, the need to continue investigating their presence in Argentina is highlighted.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Marina Paola De Seta, Florencia Viviani, Estefanía Morua, María Nazarena De Salvo, Juan Carlos Sassaroli, María Inés Ardiles, Carina Hercolini, Fernando Mario Siccardi, Ana Carolina Zotter, Christian Javier Durán, Constanza Leguizamon, Florencia Tschirsch, María Belén Pyrih, María Josefina Genné, Ezequiel Ramírez, Camila Soledad Giménez, Paula Marina Díaz Pérez, Gabriel Leonardo Cicuttin
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