Dataset Information

Detection of microbial agents in ticks collected from migratory birds in central Italy.

ABSTRACT: Tick species characterization and molecular studies were performed within ornithological surveys conducted during 2010 and 2011 in the Lazio Region of central Italy. A total of 137 ticks were collected from 41 migratory birds belonging to 17 species (four partial migrants and 13 long-distance migrants). Most ticks were nymphs, with a predominance of Hyalomma marginatum marginatum and H. m. rufipes, and a small portion of Ixodes and Amblyomma species. All tick species analyzed were infected, and the molecular pathogen recognition revealed the presence of Rickettsia aeschlimannii, Rickettsia africae, Erlichia spp., Coxiella burnetii, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato group, and Babesia microti, whereas no genomic DNA of Bartonella spp. or Francisella tularensis was detected. The results of the survey show that H. marginatum ticks appear to be a vector of microbial agents that may affect human and animal health and that migratory birds may be an important carrier of these ticks. Additional studies are needed to better investigate the role of migratory birds in the epidemiology of these pathogens.

SUBMITTER: Toma L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3952585 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Detection of microbial agents in ticks collected from migratory birds in central Italy.

Toma Luciano L Mancini Fabiola F Di Luca Marco M Cecere Jacopo G JG Bianchi Riccardo R Khoury Cristina C Quarchioni Elisa E Manzia Francesca F Rezza Giovanni G Ciervo Alessandra A

Vector borne and zoonotic diseases (Larchmont, N.Y.) 20140227 3

Tick species characterization and molecular studies were performed within ornithological surveys conducted during 2010 and 2011 in the Lazio Region of central Italy. A total of 137 ticks were collected from 41 migratory birds belonging to 17 species (four partial migrants and 13 long-distance migrants). Most ticks were nymphs, with a predominance of Hyalomma marginatum marginatum and H. m. rufipes, and a small portion of Ixodes and Amblyomma species. All tick species analyzed were infected, and ...[more]

PMID: 24576218

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Project description:A variety of human diseases transmitted by arthropod vectors, including ticks, are emerging around the globe. Birds are known to be hosts of ticks and can disperse exotic ticks and tick-borne pathogens. In Taiwan, previous studies have focused predominantly on mammals, leaving the role of birds in the maintenance of ticks and dissemination of tick-borne pathogens undetermined.Ticks were collected opportunistically when birds were studied from 1995 to 2013. Furthermore, to improve knowledge on the prevalence and mean load of tick infestation on birds in Taiwan, ticks were thoroughly searched for when birds were mist-netted at seven sites between September 2014 and April 2016 in eastern Taiwan. Ticks were identified based on both morphological and molecular information and were screened for potential tick-borne pathogens, including the genera Anaplasma, Babesia, Borrelia, Ehrlichia and Rickettsia. Finally, a list of hard tick species collected from birds in Taiwan was compiled based on past work and the current study.Nineteen ticks (all larvae) were recovered from four of the 3096 unique mist-netted bird individuals, yielding a mean load of 0.006 ticks/individual and an overall prevalence of 0.13%. A total of 139 ticks from birds, comprising 48 larvae, 35 nymphs, 55 adults and one individual of unknown life stage, were collected from 1995 to 2016, and 11 species of four genera were identified, including three newly recorded species (Haemaphysalis wellingtoni, Ixodes columnae and Ixodes turdus). A total of eight tick-borne pathogens were detected, with five species (Borrelia turdi, Anaplasma sp. clone BJ01, Ehrlichia sp. BL157-9, Rickettsia helvetica and Rickettsia monacensis) not previously isolated in Taiwan. Overall, 16 tick species of five genera have been recorded feeding on birds, including nine species first discovered in this study.Our study demonstrates the paucity of information on ticks of birds and emphasizes the need for more research on ticks of birds in Taiwan and Southeast Asia. Moreover, some newly recorded ticks and tick-borne pathogens were found only on migratory birds, demonstrating the necessity of further surveillance on these highly mobile species.

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Dataset Information

Detection of microbial agents in ticks collected from migratory birds in central Italy.

Publications

Detection of microbial agents in ticks collected from migratory birds in central Italy.

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