Analysis of the virome from ticks collected from wild animals

Abstract

Arboviruses are viruses that use hematophagous arthropod vectors to be disseminated. Often are present in urban and sylvatic cycles. The arboviruses of greatest interest in public health belong to families Togaviridae and Flaviviridae, genus Flavivirus and Alphavirus. These viruses pose a serious public health problem in Brazil and in the world due to their potential to cause outbreaks and for being responsible for high rates of morbidity and mortality. The main vectors are mosquitoes and ticks, and both have a geographical distribution, with ecological characteristics that facilitate survival in subtropical and tropical environments. These regions offer favorable ecological conditions, facilitating their persistence and spread. Brazil has a great diversity of arthropods and vertebrate animals that together with the climatic conditions are favorable characteristics to the occurrence of these diseases. Ticks are hematophagous arthropods, obligate parasites, which use a wide range of hosts. As vectors, ticks are capable of transmitting a wide variety of pathogens, and are among the most important vectors of diseases affecting wild and domestic animals and humans. Metagenomics studies allow the identification of pathogens circulating in a host, without the need of a prior definition of a specific target. Applying this methodology to the study of the virome of ticks allows the identification of the circulating species of virus in a determined region in these ectoparasites, aiding the control of potential emerging zoonosis. In addition, this technique allows the description of unknown viruses that might have future impact in human and animal health, which allows the development of measures to prevent outbreaks and pandemics. Thus, this project proposes to investigate the virome of ticks collected from wild animals. (AU)