Ixodes tropicalis (Acari: Ixodidae) infesting a human and molecular detection of Rickettsia bellii, Colombia

Abstract

Introduction: Ixodes tropicalis is a little-known tick species reported parasitizing wild rodents only in Colombia and Perú.Objective: To report a case of I. tropicalis infesting a human in the south of the metropolitan area of the Valle de Aburrá, Antioquia, Colombia, and to report the molecular detection of Rickettsia bellii in this species.Materials and methods: The tick was identified using a morphological key and sequencing of tick mitochondrial 16S rRNA. Additionally, bacterial and protozoa pathogens were evaluated using PCR for the detection of Rickettsia spp., family Anaplasmataceae, Borrelia spp., and piroplasmid.Results: We identified the tick as an I. tropicalis female according to Kohls, 1956, description and to partial 16S rRNA sequences showing a minimum of 5% divergencies compared to Ixodes sequences. We also detected the gltA gene of R. bellii in the tick with 99.87% of identity.Conclusion: This is the first report in Colombia of a species of the Ixodes genus parasitizing a human and the first report of the detection of R. bellii in this tick species.