Prevalence of tick-borne pathogens in ticks collected from migratory birds in Latvia.
Capligina V, Salmane I, Keišs O, Vilks K, Japina K, Baumanis V, Ranka R. Author information
Abstract
Migratory birds act as hosts and long-distance vectors for several tick-borne infectious agents. Here, feeding Ixodes ticks were collected from migratory birds during the autumn migration period in Latvia and screened for the presence of epidemiologically important non-viral pathogens.
A total of 93 DNA samples of ticks (37 larvae and 56 nymphs) removed from 41 birds (order Passeriformes, 9 species) was tested for Lyme borreliosis spirochaetes, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Rickettsia spp., and Babesiaspp.
Borrelia burgdorferi DNA was detected in 18% of the tick samples, and a majority of infected ticks were from thrush (Turdus spp.) birds. Among the infected ticks, Borrelia valaisiana was detected in 41% of cases, Borrelia garinii in 35%, and mixed Bo. valaisiana and Bo. garinii infection in 24%.
Anaplasma phagocytophilum DNA was detected in 2% of ticks, R. helvetica in 12%, and Babesia spp. pathogens in 4% of ticks. Among these samples, 3 Babesia species were identified: Ba. divergens, Ba. microti, and Ba. venatorum.
Coinfection with different pathogens that included mixed infections with different Borrelia genospecies was found in 20% of nymphal and 3% of larval Ixodes ticks. These results suggest that migratory birds may support the circulation and spread of medically significant zoonoses in Europe.
One of my Lyme tests, if accurate, identified the strain of Lyme I contracted as "Garinii", a predominantly neurological strain previously believed to endemic to Europe only (I hadn't been to Europe at the time).
I was infected 1 mile off the coast of RI, on Block Island, which fits the "perfect storm" combination of habitat requirements for Garinii, mentioned in the article (e.g., offshore nesting site for sea birds, with host reservoir of deer/rodent population, etc.).
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poppy
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3% of larval ticks were infected with borrelia!!!
We keep hearing that we can't get infected from larval ticks. So much for that idea.
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Lymedin2010
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Nice finding. Just a little hard to swallow their results when we know that testing is so bad & that they don't test for all known & unknown species.
My guess is that the numbers should be higher than that reported.
Posts: 2094 | From NY | Registered: Oct 2011
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