Rickettsia parkeri Strain Atlantic  Rainforest in Archived Amblyomma geayi from Three-Toed Sloth (Bradypus tridactylus) in Manaus, Brazil

In the Brazilian Amazon biome, there has been a rise in human spotted fever cases, but still significant knowledge gaps regarding the diversity and epidemiology of the tick-host-<i>Rickettsia</i> relationship. In the herein study, rickettsiae were investigated in ticks from captured live wild hosts in the Amazon biome by PCR targeting a partial sequence of <i>omp</i>B and <i>glt</i>A genes. All 343 ticks were morphologically identified as belonging to five species of the genus <i>Amblyomma</i>. <i>Amblyomma varium</i> (<i>n</i> = 24, 7%) were collected from a <i>Rhinella marina</i> and a <i>Bradypus tridactylus</i>. <i>Amblyomma geayi</i> (<i>n</i> = 51, 15%) were collected from two <i>Bradypus tridactylus</i>. <i>Amblyomma goeldii</i> (<i>n</i> = 116, 34%) were collected from three <i>Tamandua tetradactyla</i>. <i>Amblyomma dissimile</i> (<i>n</i> = 131, 38%) were collected from two <i>Boa constrictor</i>. <i>Amblyomma humerale</i> (<i>n</i> = 21, 6%) were collected from a <i>Chelonoidis</i> spp. Four <i>A. geayi</i> ticks (one female and three males) collected from a three-toed sloth (<i>B. tridactylus</i>) in 2015 were found to be positive for <i>Rickettsia parkeri</i> strain Atlantic Rainforest. The molecular findings herein have confirmed that <i>R. parkeri</i> spotted fever may occur in the Amazon Rainforest associated with <i>A. geayi</i>, expanding the geographical distribution of the <i>R. parkeri</i> strain to the Central Amazon Rainforest.