Abstract From May until October 2007, a total of 658 Ixodes
ricinus ticks were collected off birds (189), rodents (273), and
vegetation (196) in a certain area of Middle Germany and
investigated for infection with Babesia spp., Anaplasma
phagocytophilum, and Rickettsia spp. Overall, 13.1% (86/658) of
the ticks were infected with at least one pathogen; co-infections
occurred in 0.6% (4/658).
Babesia spp. specific DNA was detected in 9.7% (64/658) of the
ticks, 1.4%
(9/658) were infected with A. phagocytophilum, and 2.6% (17/658)
harbored rickettsiae. At least two different Rickettsia species
were identified:
Rickettsia monacensis and Rickettsia helvetica. Our study
provides first interesting insights into the circulation and
co-circulation of several emerging pathogens not only in ticks
parasitizing birds and small mammals as potential reservoirs but
also in questing ticks in a single natural habitat.
Lyme disease is reported across Canada, but pinpointing the source of infection has been problematic. In this three-year, bird-tick-pathogen study (2004–2006), 366 ticks representing 12 species were collected from 151 songbirds (31 passerine species/subspecies) at 16 locations Canada-wide. Of the 167 ticks/pools tested, 19 (11.4%) were infected with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.). Sequencing of the rrf-rrl intergenic spacer gene revealed four Borrelia genotypes: B. burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.) and three novel genotypes (BC genotype 1, BC genotype 2, BC genotype 3). All four genotypes were detected in spirochete-infected Ixodes auritulus (females, nymphs, larvae) suggesting this tick species is a vector for B. burgdorferi s.l. We provide first-time records for: ticks in the Yukon (north of 60° latitude), northernmost collection of Amblyomma americanum in North America, and Amblyomma imitator in Canada. First reports of bird-derived ticks infected with B. burgdorferi s.l. include: live culture of spirochetes from Ixodes pacificus (nymph) plus detection in I. auritulus nymphs, Ixodes scapularis in New Brunswick, and an I. scapularis larva in Canada. We provide the first account of B. burgdorferi s. l. in an Ixodes muris tick collected from a songbird anywhere. Congruent with previous data for the American Robin, we suggest that the Common Yellowthroat, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Song Sparrow, and Swainson’s Thrush are reservoir-competent hosts. Song Sparrows, the predominant hosts, were parasitized by I. auritulus harboring all four Borrelia genotypes. Our results show that songbirds import B. burgdorferi s.l.-infected ticks into Canada. Bird-feeding I. scapularis subadults were infected with Lyme spirochetes during both spring and fall migration in eastern Canada. Because songbirds disperse millions of infected ticks across Canada, people and domestic animals contract Lyme disease outside of the known and expected range.
*********They had to spend thousands perhaps, even more to find that Birds are playing an important role in the spread of Lyme Disease?? What??? Are you telling me that birds stop at each border and request the right to fly over your state?? What a big waste of money….why doesn’t Yale and the Infectious Disease docs and other specialists at Yale, who say there is NO chronic Lyme, spend money finding a cure for Lyme disease instead of finding out what we patient’s already know. Give me a break!!
*********It is time that patient’s start standing up and pushing back….sitting back and doing nothing is getting us no where.
*********We need to stop “fearing” city hall, when we can be city hall in these Lyme wars.
*********Just remember folks, Lyme isn’t just carried by ticks….look to birds, rodents, mice, we need to understand that it is up to us Lymie’s to take a stand.
Regards,
Linda
Article Excerpt:
New Haven, Conn. – The range of Lyme disease is spreading in North America and it appears that birds play a significant role by transporting the Lyme disease bacterium over long distances, a new study by the Yale School of Public Health has found. The study appears online in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.
Researchers analyzed published records and concluded that at least 70 species of North American birds are susceptible to infection by black-legged ticks (Ixodes scapularis), the principal vector of the Lyme disease bacterium (Borrelia burgdorferi). The evidence also suggests that these bird species are dispersing infected ticks into areas that had previously been free of the disease, such as Canada.
Lyme disease bacterium is usually associated with small mammals such as mice and squirrels. Immature ticks (in the larval and nymphal stages) become infected with the bacterium when they feed on these mammals. During subsequent blood meals, an infected tick transmits the infection to other hosts, including humans. White-tailed deer-while playing an important role in maintaining and spreading tick populations-are a biological dead end for the bacterium because its blood is immune to infection.
Birds, however, are not immune and numerous species get infected and are capable of transmitting the pathogen onto ticks, the researchers found. What remains to be seen is whether the B. burgdorferi strains that can infect birds can also cause disease in humans. If so, the role of birds in the epidemiology of Lyme disease could be profound.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ Deer ticks are expanding their range in the Upper Midwest and southern Canada, new ticks are moving into the area and existing ticks are picking up new diseases, increasing the threat of illness to hikers tramping through the region’s woods. Continued
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