Abstract

Ticks are hematophagous arthropods that naturally maintain and spread infectious microorganisms (MOs), such as viruses, bacteria, protozoans, and helminths. In fact, ticks are the main vectors of MO in wild vertebrates. In the Neotropical Zoogeographical Region (NZR), the study of tick-borne MO in wild animals has gained attention because pathogens of humans or domestic animals increase and thrive in enzootic life cycles involving wildlife. In fact, Anaplasmataceae (Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, "Candidatus Neoehrlichia"), Borrelia, and Rickettsia bacteria plus apicomplexan protists such as Babesia, Cytauxzoon, Rangelia, and Theileria circulate in wild neotropical vertebrates. Most of the data on tick-borne MOs in neotropical wildlife comes through the use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Sanger sequencing, and serological assays to a lesser extent. Using these techniques, a wide array of novel strains and species have been unveiled. However, the genetic detection of a given agent has been accompanied only on a few occasions by the isolation and culture. Therefore, the ecoepidemiology of tick-borne MOs' is barely understood in the majority of cases. The aim of this chapter is to review the occurrence of tick-borne MOs in wild animals from the NZR in recent decades.