Flea and ticks species from dogs in urban and rural areas in four districts in Chile ; Pulgas y garrapatas en perros urbanos y rurales en cuatro regiones en Chile

Fleas and ticks frequently parasitise canines worldwide and their prevalence in dogs is influenced by many factors including climate and geography, among others. Different studies worldwide have shown no clear pattern of an urban or rural preference by different species of fleas and ticks infesting dogs. The aim of this study is to identify species of fleas and ticks present in urban and rural dogs from different ecoregions of Chile. A cross-sectional study was conducted in four urban-rural paired sites at four districts: Arica y Parinacota, Coquimbo, Metropolitana and Araucania. A random and a convenience sampling of households in the urban and rural areas was carried out, collecting fleas and ticks from 112-114 dogs per locality. The frequency of fleas and ticks infestation between urban and rural areas was compared through Chi-square or Fisher's tests. A total of 921 dogs were examined, identifying four species of fleas (Ctenocephalides canis, Ctenocephalides felis, Pulex irritans and Echidnophaga gallinacea) and three species of ticks (Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Amblyomma tigrinunz and Amblyomma triste). In general, a higher prevalence of dogs with fleas were observed in rural areas, being C. canis the most frequent species globally; there were significant variations in the distribution of different species according to district. R. sanguineus was the predominant tick in all the studied areas. Amblyomma species were found exclusively in rural areas; A. triste only in Arica y Parinacota and A. tigrinum in rural areas of Coquimbo and Araucania districts ; Pulgas y garrapatas parasitan frecuentemente a caninos y su prevalencia se asocia a diversos factores incluyendo clima y geografía, entre otros. Diversos estudios han mostrado que no existe una clara preferencia entre sitios urbanos o rurales para las especies de pulgas y garrapatas que infectan perros. El objetivo de este estudio fue identificar especies de pulgas y garrapatas presentes en perros de zonas urbanas y rurales de diferentes ecorregiones de Chile. ...