En muchos casos las áreas protegidas tienen límites difusos y sus áreas buffer constituyen áreas de interfase humano-doméstico-silvestre propicias para el movimiento de animales domésticos y salvajes y para el intercambio de patógenos. Estudiamos los perros, mascotas de dos localidades cercanas a la Reserva Natural del Bosque Mbaracayú (RNBM), Canindeyú, Paraguay, un área protegida estricta de 64.405 ha. Para esto se colectaron datos sanitaros de 47 perros de las comunidades Aché de Arroyo Bandera y Ava Guaraní de Mboi Jagua durante 2012 y 2013. Se seleccionaron estas comunidades, ya que sus perros entran a la Reserva. Los perros analizados en las comunidades adyacentes a la RNBM, si bien aparentaban un estado bueno, no reciben ningún tipo de atención veterinaria, y, por lo tanto, constituyen en su estado actual una potencial amenaza para la fauna silvestre del RNBM. Recomendamos la implementación de programas de educación ambiental y campañas de esterilización y vacunación de mascotas en asentamientos humanos en los alrededores de la RNBM.

Anaplasmataceae bacteria are emerging infectious agents transmitted by ticks. The aim of this study was to identify the molecular diversity of this bacterial family in ticks and hosts, both domestic and wild, as well as blood meal sources of free-living ticks in northeastern Paraguay. The bacteria were identified using PCR-HRM, a method optimized for this purpose, while the identification of ticks and their blood meal was performed using conventional PCR. All amplified products were subsequently sequenced. The bacteria detected in the blood hosts included Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma platys, and Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Candidatus Anaplasma boleense, and Wolbachia spp., which had not been previously reported in the country. Free-living and parasitic ticks on dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) and wild armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) were collected and identified as Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Amblyomma spp. The species E. canis, A. platys, A. phagocytophilum, and Ca. A. boleense were detected in domestic dog ticks, and E. canis and A. platys were found for the first time in armadillos and free-living ticks. Blood feeding sources detected in free-living ticks were rodents, humans, armadillos and dogs. Results show a high diversity of tick-borne pathogens circulating among domestic and wild animals in the northeastern region of Paraguay.

The upper Jejuí River is a major tributary of the Paraguay River in eastern Paraguay and is the principal drainage for the Mbaracayú Forest Biosphere Reserve. Despite the international significance of the biosphere reserve and detailed documentation of its terrestrial fauna and flora, the fish fauna in its streams remains relatively unknown, with 48 species previously recorded. We sampled 35 sites within the biosphere reserve over five years (2007–2011) to assess the richness of its ichthyofauna. These surveys yielded a new total of 105 known species for the biosphere reserve, including two newly-recorded orders, Gymnotiformes and Cyprinodontiformes, and 14 newly-recorded families. Fish community composition resembled that of previously-reported fish communities from the Paraguay River drainage, with characiforms and siluriforms comprising the majority of the species (57.1% and 31.4%, respectively). Post hoc analyses showed significantly greater ichthyofaunal diversity at sites within the Mbaracayú Forest Nature Reserve, a core protected forest area within the biosphere reserve, compared to areas outside the nature reserve, suggesting a negative impact from deforestation and land conversion on fish assemblages in these headwater streams. Broad regional deforestation places greater emphasis on important management decisions that will protect current biodiversity.

The aim of this study was to characterize the gastrointestinal parasitic fauna of nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) of the Reserva Natural del Bosque Mbaracayú (RNBM), Canindeyú, Paraguay, and to evaluate how human activities, particularly hunting, may influence parasitism patterns and zoonotic risk. We recovered 15 distinct parasites from fresh fecal samples of 73 individuals of D. novemcinctus including Protozoa: Eimeria sp., Giardia sp., coccidia (Family Adeleidae), unidentified coccidia; Cestodes: Hymenolepis sp.; Nematodes: Trichuris sp., Trichostrongyloidea, Cruzia sp., Ancylostoma sp., Uncinaria sp., Aspidodera sp., Strongyloides sp. and Acanthocephala. We report high prevalence of potentially zoonotic parasites including Ancylostoma, Trichuris, Uncinaria and Coccidia. We also found an increase in parasite richness in areas where hunting was reported vs. areas without hunting and the same trend for Nematode probability of presence, especially during the cold dry season. These results suggest that human activities may be affecting patterns of parasitism in wild armadillos. In addition, traditional consumption of these animals in this region may present a route of human exposure to zoonotic parasites.