One Health Approach to Brazilian Spotted Fever: Capybaras, Horses, and Rural Areas as Predictors for Human Disease
(1) Background: Brazilian spotted fever (BSF) is a tick-borne disease that has occurred in several Brazilian regions, caused by <i>Rickettsia</i> spp. bacteria and mainly transmitted by <i>Amblyomma</i> ticks. Despite the high BSF lethality in several Brazilian endemic areas,...
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2025-03-01
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| author | Iara Giordano Rosa-Xavier Adriano Pinter Rogério Giuffrida Alexander Welker Biondo Louise Bach Kmetiuk Vamilton Alvares Santarém |
| author_facet | Iara Giordano Rosa-Xavier Adriano Pinter Rogério Giuffrida Alexander Welker Biondo Louise Bach Kmetiuk Vamilton Alvares Santarém |
| author_sort | Iara Giordano Rosa-Xavier |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | (1) Background: Brazilian spotted fever (BSF) is a tick-borne disease that has occurred in several Brazilian regions, caused by <i>Rickettsia</i> spp. bacteria and mainly transmitted by <i>Amblyomma</i> ticks. Despite the high BSF lethality in several Brazilian endemic areas, predictors and associated risk factors remain to be fully established. Accordingly, the retrospective study herein aimed to assess BSF cases and associated factors in an endemic area of western São Paulo state. (2) Methods: Notified cases identified by the System for Epidemiological Surveillance of São Paulo (CVE), from January 2007 to December 2021, were gathered and analyzed by Logistic Multivariate Regression (LMR) to assess potential risk factors for BSF. (3) Results: Overall, 74/1121 (6.6%; 95% CI: 5.29–8.21) individuals were considered positive for BSF. Univariate analysis showed previous contact with capybaras (OR: 1.89; 95% CI: 1.0–3.55; <i>p</i> < 0.001) and raising horses (OR = 1.4; 95% CI: 0.66–2.67; <i>p</i> = 0.45), while LMR revealed living in rural areas (OR = 2.0; 95% CI: 1.02–3.73; <i>p</i> = 0.037) as an associated risk factor for BSF. (4) Conclusions: The results herein show that the geographically studied area still shows high occurrence of BSF, mostly for individuals living or visiting areas overlapping free-ranging capybaras. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2076-0817 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Pathogens |
| spelling | doaj-art-88a9d2d155ea401b802dd7fbd47088132025-08-20T02:18:04ZengMDPI AGPathogens2076-08172025-03-0114430510.3390/pathogens14040305One Health Approach to Brazilian Spotted Fever: Capybaras, Horses, and Rural Areas as Predictors for Human DiseaseIara Giordano Rosa-Xavier0Adriano Pinter1Rogério Giuffrida2Alexander Welker Biondo3Louise Bach Kmetiuk4Vamilton Alvares Santarém5Graduate College in Animal Sciences, University of Western São Paulo (UNOESTE), Presidente Prudente 19026-310, SP, BrazilVeterinary Medicine and Zootecnic, Veterinary Medicine School, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-270, SP, BrazilGraduate College in Animal Sciences, University of Western São Paulo (UNOESTE), Presidente Prudente 19026-310, SP, BrazilDepartment of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba 80035-050, PR, BrazilZoonosis Surveillance Unit, City Secretary of Health, Curitiba 81265-320, PR, BrazilGraduate College in Animal Sciences, University of Western São Paulo (UNOESTE), Presidente Prudente 19026-310, SP, Brazil(1) Background: Brazilian spotted fever (BSF) is a tick-borne disease that has occurred in several Brazilian regions, caused by <i>Rickettsia</i> spp. bacteria and mainly transmitted by <i>Amblyomma</i> ticks. Despite the high BSF lethality in several Brazilian endemic areas, predictors and associated risk factors remain to be fully established. Accordingly, the retrospective study herein aimed to assess BSF cases and associated factors in an endemic area of western São Paulo state. (2) Methods: Notified cases identified by the System for Epidemiological Surveillance of São Paulo (CVE), from January 2007 to December 2021, were gathered and analyzed by Logistic Multivariate Regression (LMR) to assess potential risk factors for BSF. (3) Results: Overall, 74/1121 (6.6%; 95% CI: 5.29–8.21) individuals were considered positive for BSF. Univariate analysis showed previous contact with capybaras (OR: 1.89; 95% CI: 1.0–3.55; <i>p</i> < 0.001) and raising horses (OR = 1.4; 95% CI: 0.66–2.67; <i>p</i> = 0.45), while LMR revealed living in rural areas (OR = 2.0; 95% CI: 1.02–3.73; <i>p</i> = 0.037) as an associated risk factor for BSF. (4) Conclusions: The results herein show that the geographically studied area still shows high occurrence of BSF, mostly for individuals living or visiting areas overlapping free-ranging capybaras.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/14/4/305epidemiology<i>Rickettsia</i>risk factorstickvector-borne diseaseszoonoses |
| spellingShingle | Iara Giordano Rosa-Xavier Adriano Pinter Rogério Giuffrida Alexander Welker Biondo Louise Bach Kmetiuk Vamilton Alvares Santarém One Health Approach to Brazilian Spotted Fever: Capybaras, Horses, and Rural Areas as Predictors for Human Disease Pathogens epidemiology <i>Rickettsia</i> risk factors tick vector-borne diseases zoonoses |
| title | One Health Approach to Brazilian Spotted Fever: Capybaras, Horses, and Rural Areas as Predictors for Human Disease |
| title_full | One Health Approach to Brazilian Spotted Fever: Capybaras, Horses, and Rural Areas as Predictors for Human Disease |
| title_fullStr | One Health Approach to Brazilian Spotted Fever: Capybaras, Horses, and Rural Areas as Predictors for Human Disease |
| title_full_unstemmed | One Health Approach to Brazilian Spotted Fever: Capybaras, Horses, and Rural Areas as Predictors for Human Disease |
| title_short | One Health Approach to Brazilian Spotted Fever: Capybaras, Horses, and Rural Areas as Predictors for Human Disease |
| title_sort | one health approach to brazilian spotted fever capybaras horses and rural areas as predictors for human disease |
| topic | epidemiology <i>Rickettsia</i> risk factors tick vector-borne diseases zoonoses |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/14/4/305 |
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