Abstract
Assuming the existence of tick parasitism in humans in the State of Pará, an aggregate observational study was developed along a transversal line in three cities of the State, during two years. Interviews and examinations of 2,160 townspeople and tourists were carried out, without discrimination of ethnic, sex, age, or social status, and classified for effects analyzed for four bands of age, six types of activities in the society, and two sexes. Larvae, nymphs, and adults of ticks had been identified with cases of parasitism involving six species, of the genus Amblyomma, the genus Ixodes, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Anocentor nitens, and Ornithodorus talaje (the first case registered in Pará), infecting human beings. Adults and agricultural workers were most frequently attacked, followed by students. A. cajennense and R. sanguineus are the species most frequent in the parasitism affecting humans, and A. cajennense is the dominant species. The statistical prevalence was largest in Cachoeira do Arari, Ilha do Marajó. In Santarém the greatest average intensity of parasitism was for R. sanguineus, and in the other locations it wasfor A. cajennense. Agricultural workers faced the greatest risk from parasitism, and to place in practice elementary measures of prevention would reduce by 25% the number of cases.
Highlights
IntroductionKnown diseases with agents transmitted by ticks comprise an extensive set
To this day, known diseases with agents transmitted by ticks comprise an extensive set
Nymphs, and adults of ticks had been identified with cases of parasitism involving six species, of the genus Amblyomma, the genus Ixodes, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Anocentor nitens, and Ornithodorus talaje, infecting human beings
Summary
Known diseases with agents transmitted by ticks comprise an extensive set. The diseases that involve ticks for transmission usually have a focal distribution, since the mobility of vector is restricted, except when transported by vertebrates, and even many species have a limited capacity to adapt to the urban milieu. These diseases whose only vector is the tick normally do not occur in rapid progression outbreaks or epidemics, because the vectors are eventual human ectoparasites, and in general hard ticks (Ixodidae) feed from blood only once in each stage; while soft ticks (Argasidae) feed for a short time, many times, but can resist fasting for a long time. There are no bibliographical references about the parasitizing relation between ticks and humans in Northern Brazil, so this project was ideal with its hypothesis concerning the occurrence of parasitism in human hosts by ticks in the State of Pará, aiming to discover the species of ticks that use humans as hosts in one or many phases of their lifecycle
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