Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia lonestari in birds in Tennessee.
Jordan BE, Onks KR, Hamilton SW, Hayslette SE, Wright SM.
University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA.
Lyme disease in the United States is caused by the bacterial spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi s.s. (Johnson, Schmid, Hyde, Steigerwalt, and Brenner), which is transmitted by tick vectors Ixodes scapularis (Say) and I. pacificus (Cooley and Kohls).
Borrelia lonestari, transmitted by the tick Amblyomma americanum L., may be associated with a related syndrome, southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI).
Borrelia lonestari sequences, reported primarily in the southeastern states, have also been detected in ticks in northern states.
It has been suggested that migratory birds may have a role in the spread of Lyme disease spirochetes.
This study evaluated both migratory waterfowl and nonmigratory wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris, Eastern wild turkey) for B. burgdorferi and B. lonestari DNA sequences.
A total of 389 avian blood samples (163 migratory birds representing six species, 125 wild turkeys harvested in habitats shared with migratory birds, 101 wild turkeys residing more distant from migratory flyways) were extracted, amplified, and probed to determine Borrelia presence and species identity.
Ninety-one samples were positive for Borrelia spp.
Among migratory birds and turkeys collected near migration routes, B. burgdorferi predominated.
Among turkeys residing further away from flyways, detection of B. lonestari was more common.
All A. americanum ticks collected from these areas were negative for Borrelia DNA; no I. scapularis were found.
To our knowledge, this represents the first documentation of B. lonestari among any birds.
PMID: 19198527 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Posted by seekhelp (Member # 15067) on :
No thanksgiving bird or me TC.
Posted by sutherngrl (Member # 16270) on :
My thanksgiving turkey will not be a wild turkey, nor is it organic. So it was probably pumped full of antibiotics. Should be okay to eat! HA!
Bad timing on this article! Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Posted by seekhelp (Member # 15067) on :
I don't have the $$$ to eat all free range organic perfect raised food. Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- Perfectly raised turkeys can also carry all sorts of bacteria. Cooking to the proper temperature really matters regardless of where the birds are raised.
I'd like to see cooking instructions regarding Bb, though.
I have ordered a free range turkey at $2.29 a pound and I just saw a Safeway TV ad for turkeys at 23 cents a pound. Gulp.
But I have no choice. I was vegetarian for years but I really need some meat for sustained energy. (Others may do fine with vegetarian / vegan diet, though. I just could not.)
Being gluten-free, etc. sure costs more but it helps me be closer to seizure free and that's worth a lot. Still, with all the meals and soup broth, it will go far. -
Posted by nenet (Member # 13174) on :
quote:Originally posted by ChuckG: So 91/389 = 23.3% of the blood samples were positive for Bb. Presumably using PCR. So why does PCR work on birds and not very well on humans?
Because they can slice up the birds and test their tissues.
Bb can travel through blood, but it prefers to travel through more viscous areas (where its flagella is better suited), and lives in collagen-rich areas. So PCR testing our blood (or CFS) has a very low probability/success rate.
Unfortunately (!) we can't do biopsies throughout the entirety of (living) human bodies, and not many want their brains, hearts, organs, spinal tissues, nerves, joints, etc. all biopsied to get a better chance at detection.
Even if you could get a biopsy of every type of tissue, you still have a risk of missing Bb DNA, because you aren't testing ALL of it.
Posted by Tincup (Member # 5829) on :
OOPS! Sorry seek and others!
Wasn't thinking about the upcoming holiday! Gobble, gobble, gobble!
I think if you eat YOUR turkey... and not one from the lab... you'll be fine!
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