Borrelia spirochetes in bird-feeding ticks were studied in the Czech Republic. During the postbreeding period (July to September 2005), 1,080 passerine birds infested by 2,240 Ixodes ricinus subadult ticks were examined. Borrelia garinii was detected in 22.2% of the ticks, Borrelia valaisiana was detected in 12.8% of the ticks, Borrelia afzelii was detected in 1.6% of the ticks, and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto was detected in 0.3% of the ticks. After analysis of infections in which the blood meal volume and the stage of the ticks were considered, we concluded that Eurasian blackbirds (Turdus merula), song thrushes (Turdus philomelos), and great tits (Parus major) are capable of transmitting B. garinii; that juvenile blackbirds and song thrushes are prominent reservoirs for B. garinii spirochetes; that some other passerine birds investigated play minor roles in transmitting B. garinii; and that the presence B. afzelii in ticks results from infection in a former stage. Thus, while B. garinii transmission is associated with only a few passerine bird species, these birds have the potential to distribute millions of Lyme disease spirochetes between urban areas.

Department of Biology and Wildlife Diseases University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno Czech Republic

Zobrazit více v PubMed

Black, W. C., IV, and R. L. Roehrdanz. 1998. Mitochondrial gene order is not conserved in arthropods: prostriate and metastriate tick mitochondrial genomes. Mol. Biol. Evol. 15 PubMed

Busch, U., C. Hizo-Teufel, R. Bohmer, V. Fingerle, D. Rossler, B. Wilske, and V. Preac-Mursic. 1996. PubMed

Comstedt, P., S. Bergstrom, B. Olsen, U. Garpmo, L. Marjavaara, H. Mejlon, A. G. Barbour, and J. Bunikis. 2006. Migratory passerine birds as reservoirs of Lyme borreliosis in Europe. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 12 PubMed PMC

Demaerschalck, I., A. Ben Messaoud, M. De Kesel, B. Hoyois, Y. Lobet, P. Hoet, G. Bigaignon, A. Bollen, and E. Godfroid. 1995. Simultaneous presence of different PubMed PMC

Floris, R., G. Menardi, R. Bressan, G. Trevisan, S. Ortenzio, E. Rorai, and M. Cinco. 2007. Evaluation of a genotyping method based on the ospA gene to detect PubMed

Fukunaga, M., K. Okada, M. Nakao, T. Konishi, and Y. Sato. 1996. Phylogenetic analysis of PubMed

Gern, L., and P. F. Humair. 1998. Natural history of PubMed

Guy, E. C., and G. Stanek. 1991. Detection of PubMed PMC

Gylfe, A., S. Bergstrom, J. Lundstrom, and B. Olsen. 2000. Reactivation of PubMed

Hanincova, K., V. Taragelova, J. Koci, S. M. Schafer, R. Hails, A. J. Ullmann, J. Piesman, M. Labuda, and K. Kurtenbach. 2003. Association of PubMed PMC

Hudec, K. 2003. Fauna ČSSR, Ptáci. Aves III/2. Academia, Prague, Czech Republic.

Jaenson, T. G. 1991. The epidemiology of Lyme borreliosis. Parasitol. Today 7 PubMed

Kipp, S., A. Goedecke, W. Dorn, B. Wilske, and V. Fingerle. 2006. Role of birds in Thuringia, Germany, in the natural cycle of PubMed

Kulich, P., E. Roubalova, L. Dubska, O. Sychra, B. Smid, and I. Literak. 2008. Avipoxvirus in blackcaps ( PubMed

Kurtenbach, K., D. Carey, A. N. Hoodless, P. A. Nuttall, and S. E. Randolph. 1998. Competence of pheasants as reservoirs for Lyme disease spirochetes. J. Med. Entomol. 35 PubMed

Kurtenbach, K., M. Peacey, S. G. Rijpkema, A. N. Hoodless, P. A. Nuttall, and S. E. Randolph. 1998. Differential transmission of the genospecies of PubMed PMC

Kurtenbach, K., H. S. Sewell, N. H. Ogden, S. E. Randolph, and P. A. Nuttall. 1998. Serum complement sensitivity as a key factor in Lyme disease ecology. Infect. Immun. 66 PubMed PMC

Kurtenbach, K., S. M. Schafer, H. S. Sewell, M. Peacey, A. Hoodless, P. A. Nuttall, and S. E. Randolph. 2002. Differential survival of Lyme borreliosis spirochetes in ticks that feed on birds. Infect. Immun. 70 PubMed PMC

Landys, M. M., J. C. Wingfield, and M. Ramenofsky. 2004. Plasma corticosterone increases during migratory restlessness in the captive white-crowned sparrow PubMed

Lee, K. A., M. Wikelski, W. D. Robinson, T. R. Robinson, and K. C. Klasing. 2008. Constitutive immune defences correlate with life-history variables in tropical birds. J. Anim. Ecol. 77 PubMed

Magnarelli, L. A., J. F. Anderson, and D. Fish. 1987. Transovarial transmission of PubMed

Majlathova, V., I. Majlath, M. Derdakova, B. Vichova, and B. Pet'ko. 2006. PubMed PMC

Masuzawa, T., I. G. Kharitonenkov, T. Kadosaka, N. Hashimoto, M. Kudeken, N. Takada, K. Kaneda, and Y. Imai. 2005. Characterization of PubMed

Matson, K. D., B. I. Tieleman, and K. C. Klasing. 2006. Capture stress and the bactericidal competence of blood and plasma in five species of tropical birds. Physiol. Biochem. Zool. 79 PubMed

Morshed, M. G., J. D. Scott, K. Fernando, L. Beati, D. F. Mazerolle, G. Geddes, and L. A. Durden. 2005. Migratory songbirds disperse ticks across Canada, and first isolation of the Lyme disease spirochete, PubMed

Ogden, N. H., P. A. Nuttall, and S. E. Randolph. 1997. Natural Lyme disease cycles maintained via sheep by co-feeding ticks. Parasitology 115 PubMed

Piesman, J., and C. M. Happ. 2001. The efficacy of co-feeding as a means of maintaining PubMed

Rand, P. W., E. H. Lacombe, R. P. Smith, Jr., and J. Ficker. 1998. Participation of birds (Aves) in the emergence of Lyme disease in southern Maine. J. Med. Entomol 35 PubMed

Rappole, J. H., S. R. Derrickson, and Z. Hubalek. 2000. Migratory birds and spread of West Nile virus in the Western Hemisphere. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 6 PubMed PMC

Rauter, C., and T. Hartung. 2005. Prevalence of PubMed PMC

Reed, K. D., J. K. Meece, J. S. Henkel, and S. K. Shukla. 2003. Birds, migration and emerging zoonoses: West Nile virus, Lyme disease, influenza A and enteropathogens. Clin. Med. Res. 1 PubMed PMC

Richter, D., and F. R. Matuschka. 2006. Perpetuation of the Lyme disease spirochete PubMed PMC

Richter, D., D. Postic, N. Sertour, I. Livey, F. R. Matuschka, and G. Baranton. 2006. Delineation of PubMed

Stastny, K., V. Bejcek, and K. Hudec. 2006. Atlas hnizdniho rozsireni ptaku v Ceské republice 2001-2003. Aventinum, Prague, Czech Republic. (In Czech with English summary.)

Taragel'ova, V., J. Koci, K. Hanincova, K. Kurtenbach, M. Derdakova, N. H. Ogden, I. Literak, E. Kocianova, and M. Labuda. 2008. Blackbirds and song thrushes constitute a key reservoir of PubMed PMC

van der Heijden, I. M., B. Wilbrink, S. G. Rijpkema, L. M. Schouls, P. H. Heymans, J. D. van Embden, F. C. Breedveld, and P. P. Tak. 1999. Detection of PubMed

Wright, S. A., D. A. Lemenager, J. R. Tucker, M. V. Armijos, and S. A. Yamamoto. 2006. An avian contribution to the presence of PubMed

East-to-west dispersal of bird-associated ixodid ticks in the northern Palaearctic: Review of already reported tick species according to longitudinal migratory avian hosts and first evidence on the genetic connectedness of Ixodes apronophorus between Siberia and Europe

Ixodes ricinus and Its Transmitted Pathogens in Urban and Peri-Urban Areas in Europe: New Hazards and Relevance for Public Health

Synanthropic birds influence the distribution of Borrelia species: analysis of Ixodes ricinus ticks feeding on passerine birds

Zobrazit více v PubMed

GENBANK
EU401776, EU401777, EU401778, EU401779, EU401780, EU401781, EU401782, EU401783, EU401784