What are Portuguese ticks hiding?

Resumen del póster presentado al Joint 8th International Ticks and Tick-borne Pathogens and 12th Biennial Society for Tropical Veterinary Medicine Conference, celebradas en Cape Town (Sudafrica) del 24 al 29 de agosto de 2014.-- et al.[Objectives]: Ticks are known as important vectors of etiological agents associated to human and animal disease. The "One Health" approach recognizes the need for integrated work of multidisciplinary teams as requisite for more comprehensive results in zoonotic diseases, such as tick borne diseases (TBD´s) which rely on animals as reservoirs. Tick identification and pathogen detection are critical in the analysis of disease risk and in the establishment of control measures. Thus, in this work it was our first concern to obtain data on the prevalence of ticks and tick-borne diseases such as anaplasmosis, babesiosis and theileriosis in Portugal mainland. [Method]: Around 200 specimens were collected by flagging/dragging the vegetation and also from vertebrate hosts during 2013 in 32 randomly selected regional administrative regions of the country. Ticks were identified according to morphological characters and included species such as Dermacentor marginatus, Hyalomma lusitanicum, Haemaphysalis punctata, Ixodes ricinus, Rhipicephalus bursa, R. pusillus and R. sanguineus. Genomic DNA was extracted and tested for Babesia spp., Theileria spp. and Anaplasma spp. pathogens agents by conventional PCR. [Conclusions]: Initial screening demonstrates presence of Theileria and Anaplasma pathogens in Portuguese ticks. The detection of agents in these arthropods reinforces the need of a continuing epidemiological survey.Peer reviewe