RESUMO
Ticks are obligate hematophagous arthropods of significant importance to human and veterinary medicine. They transmit a vast array of pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and helminths. Most epidemiological data on ticks and tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) in the West Indies are limited to common livestock pathogens such as Ehrlichia ruminantium, Babesia spp. (i.e., B. bovis and B. bigemina), and Anaplasma marginale, and less information is available on companion animal pathogens. Of note, human tick-borne diseases (TBDs) remain almost completely uncharacterized in the West Indies. Information on TBP presence in wildlife is also missing. Herein, we provide a comprehensive review of the ticks and TBPs affecting human and animal health in the Caribbean, and introduce the challenges associated with understanding TBD epidemiology and implementing successful TBD management in this region. In particular, we stress the need for innovative and versatile surveillance tools using high-throughput pathogen detection (e.g., high-throughput real-time microfluidic PCR). The use of such tools in large epidemiological surveys will likely improve TBD prevention and control programs in the Caribbean.
Assuntos
Monitoramento Epidemiológico/veterinária , Doenças Transmitidas por Carrapatos/epidemiologia , Carrapatos/microbiologia , Carrapatos/parasitologia , Anaplasma marginale/isolamento & purificação , Anaplasma marginale/patogenicidade , Doenças dos Animais/epidemiologia , Doenças dos Animais/microbiologia , Doenças dos Animais/parasitologia , Animais , Animais Selvagens , Babesia/isolamento & purificação , Babesia/patogenicidade , Região do Caribe/epidemiologia , Ehrlichia ruminantium/isolamento & purificação , Ehrlichia ruminantium/patogenicidade , Ensaios de Triagem em Larga Escala/métodos , Humanos , Insetos Vetores/classificação , Insetos Vetores/microbiologia , Insetos Vetores/parasitologia , Doenças Transmitidas por Carrapatos/microbiologia , Doenças Transmitidas por Carrapatos/parasitologia , Doenças Transmitidas por Carrapatos/prevenção & controle , Carrapatos/classificação , Índias Ocidentais/epidemiologiaRESUMO
Two vaccines, based on inactivated elementary bodies of Cowdria ruminantium, one formulated in Montanide ISA50, the other in Freund's adjuvant, were compared in goats. Administered twice subcutaneously with an interval of 81 days, both protected three out of five goats against a very severe challenge, lethal for all 14 control goats, 3.5 months after the second injection. Both vaccines elicited similar antibody levels. The protection afforded by the Montanide ISA50 vaccine was tested 15 and 17 months after the second injection of the vaccine. Three out of six and five out of six goats, respectively, survived a challenge which killed all four control goats used on each occasion. Antibodies were still detectable in the immunised goats. The level of protection appears to be influenced by the dose of virulent C. ruminantium used for the challenge. As any stock of C. ruminantium can be incorporated in order to cover the antigenic repertoire of the organism, this kind of inactivated vaccine can now be tested in the field.