Journal
TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES
Volume 12, Issue 1, Pages -Publisher
ELSEVIER GMBH
DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2020.101590
Keywords
Ticks; Migratory birds; Tick-borne pathogens; Africa; Ponza
Categories
Funding
- Max Plank Research Society, Germany
- University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna
- German Research Foundation (DFG) [BE 5791/21]
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This study highlights the role of migratory birds in the spread of tick species and tick-borne pathogens outside their endemic range. 16 captured birds from 10 different bird species on Ponza Island in Italy were found to carry ticks, with some ticks testing positive for Rickettsia and Borrelia species.
Seasonal migration of birds between breeding and wintering areas can facilitate the spread of tick species and tick-borne diseases. In this study, 151 birds representing 10 different bird species were captured on Ponza Island, an important migratory stopover off the western coast of Italy and screened for tick infestation. Ticks were collected and identified morphologically. Morphological identification was supported through sequencing a fragment of the 16S mitochondrial gene. In total, 16 captured birds carried ticks from four tick species: Hyalomma rufipes (n = 14), Amblyomma variegatum (n = 1), Amblyomma sp. (n = 1), and Ixodes ventalloi (n = 2). All specimens were either larvae (n = 2) or nymphs (n = 16). All ticks were investigated for tick-borne pathogens using published molecular methods. Rickettsia aeschlimannii was detected in six of the 14 collected H. rufipes ticks. Additionally, the singular A. variegatum nymph tested positive for R. africae. In all 14 H. rufipes specimens (2 larvae and 12 nymphs), Francisella-like endosymbionts were detected. Four H. rufipes ticks tested positive for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in a screening PCR but did not produce sufficient amplicon amounts for species identification. All ticks tested negative for tick-borne encephalitis virus, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, Coxiella burnetii, Coxiella-like organisms, Babesia spp., and Theileria spp. This study confirms the role of migratory birds in the spread and establishment of both exotic tick species and tick-borne pathogens outside their endemic range.
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