Dog ectoparasites as sentinels for pathogenic Rickettsia and Bartonella in rural Guatemala.

Background

Fleas and ticks serve as vectors of multiple pathogens in the genera

Methods

We evaluated dog parasites as sentinels for zoonotic disease risk in rural Guatemala by sampling ticks and fleas from dogs, which were then identified and individually screened for

Results

A total of 77 households were surveyed and 80.52% of them had dogs. Overall, 133 dogs were examined for fleas and ticks, of which 68.42% had fleas and 35.34% had ticks. A total of 433 fleas and 181 ticks were collected from the infested dogs, with an additional 33 ticks collected from house walls. Three flea species were identified:

Conclusions

This study reports Candidatus

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Conflicts of interest The authors do not have conflicts of interest.