Diversity and pathogen surveillance in chigger mites across Brazil's five biogeographic regions
The expansion of land use in Brazil has caused biodiversity loss and increased human interaction with parasites and pathogens previously restricted to natural ecosystems. Chigger mites are ectoparasites during the larval stage and can cause skin reactions or transmit pathogens to their hosts, including humans. This study aimed to evaluate the diversity of chiggers collected from all five Brazilian biogeographical regions, along with pathogen surveillance. Specimens were subjected to both morphological taxonomy and endogenous control, followed by PCR assays targeting pathogens of the genera Borrelia, Orientia, and Rickettsia. The analyses revealed a high species richness, including two novel records in Brazil: the genus Boshkerria and the species Quadraseta antillarum. Additionally, the genus Quadraseta tested positive for Rickettsia sp., while tests for the other agents were negative. This is the first report of a Rickettsia sp. agent detected in a Quadraseta nymph.
Authors
- Ana Cláudia Calchi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4096-5937)
- Graziela Tolesano-Pascoli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8219-191X)
- Josivânia Soares Pereira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2407-9417)
- Glauber Meneses Barboza de Oliveira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2426-6626)
- Maurício Cláudio Horta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3834-8398)
- Luciano Moreira Lima (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9542-4436)
- Gabriela Cousandier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0163-4975)
- Jonas Sponchiado (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1267-1763)
- Renata Duarte Alquezar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8294-722X)
- Camile Lugarini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7589-7113)
- Ricardo Bassini-Silva
- Fernando de Castro Jacinavicius
- Erika Hingst-Zaher
- Isabella Pereira Pesenato
- Ralph Maturano
- Darci Moraes Barros-Battesti
- Ariane Ferreira
- Ester Nascimento da Costa
- Carlos Cezar Trigo Nasser-Felix
- Sueli Akemi Taniwaki Miyagi
- Marcelo B. Labruna
Institutions
- Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (BR)
- Universidade de Brasília (BR)
- Universidade de São Paulo (BR)
- Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) (BR)
- Brazilian Medical Association (BR)
- Instituto Butantan (BR)
- Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (BR)
- Ourofino Saúde Animal (Brazil) (BR)
- Instituto Federal Farroupilha (BR)
- Núcleo de Pesquisas Aplicadas (Brazil) (BR)
- Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco (BR)
- Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (BR)
- Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido (BR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Parasitology International
- Published
- 2026-02-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.parint.2026.103248
- Primary Topic
- Bird parasitology and diseases
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00