Dataset Information

Far-Reaching Dispersal of Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato-Infected Blacklegged Ticks by Migratory Songbirds in Canada.

ABSTRACT: Lyme disease has been documented in northern areas of Canada, but the source of the etiological bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (Bbsl) has been in doubt. We collected 87 ticks from 44 songbirds during 2017, and 24 (39%) of 62 nymphs of the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, were positive for Bbsl. We provide the first report of Bbsl-infected, songbird-transported I. scapularis in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia; Newfoundland and Labrador; north-central Manitoba, and Alberta. Notably, we report the northernmost account of Bbsl-infected ticks parasitizing a bird in Canada. DNA extraction, PCR amplification, and DNA sequencing reveal that these Bbsl amplicons belong to Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (Bbss), which is pathogenic to humans. Based on our findings, health-care providers should be aware that migratory songbirds widely disperse B. burgdorferi-infected I. scapularis in Canada's North, and local residents do not have to visit an endemic area to contract Lyme disease.

SUBMITTER: Scott JD

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6164468 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Far-Reaching Dispersal of Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato-Infected Blacklegged Ticks by Migratory Songbirds in Canada.

Scott John D JD Clark Kerry L KL Foley Janet E JE Bierman Bradley C BC Durden Lance A LA

Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) 20180725 3

Lyme disease has been documented in northern areas of Canada, but the source of the etiological bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (Bbsl) has been in doubt. We collected 87 ticks from 44 songbirds during 2017, and 24 (39%) of 62 nymphs of the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, were positive for Bbsl. We provide the first report of Bbsl-infected, songbird-transported I. scapularis in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia; Newfoundland and Labrador; north-central Manitoba, and Al ...[more]

PMID: 30044388

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Project description:Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) DNA was detected by PCR in Ixodes persulcatus Schulze, 1930, Haemaphysalis concinna Koch, 1844, Haemaphysalis japonica douglasi Nuttall et Warburton, 1915 and Dermacentor silvarum Olenev, 1932 ticks collected in the Amur region, the Jewish Autonomous region, the Sakhalin region and on the Khabarovsk territory. Infection rate of I. persulcatus with B. burgdorferi s.l. 10-69% exceeded the corresponding values of three other tick species in all examined regions during 1999-2014 despite different tick abundance and dominance structure. Bacterial loads estimated on the base of quantitative real time PCR varied from 102 to 109 genome-equivalents per a tick with maximal values for I. persulcatus and H. japonica. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene and 5S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer nucleotide sequences revealed two species: 1) Borrelia garinii of Asian type NT29 with several isolates of European type 20047; 2) Borrelia afzelii with identical sequences of the majority of studied isolates and VS461 reference strain in all regions except the Sakhalin Island where B. afzelii was not found. Borrelia miyamotoi of the relapsing fever group was detected as monoinfection or in combination with B. burgdorferi s.l. in 4.0?±?0.9% and 4.8?±?0.9% I. persulcatus ticks, respectively. Multiple locus sequence analysis of three fragments of 16S rRNA, glpQ and p66 genes proved that all the Far Eastern B. miyamotoi isolates belonged to the Asian type identical to FR64b strain (GenBank CP004217) from Japan. Wide distribution of Borrelia DNA in ticks, relative genetic homogeneity with similar sequences of the coding regions and the intergenic spacer of Borrelia wild isolates and temporal stability with high homology levels of the Far Eastern isolates of B. garinii, B. afzelii and B. miyamotoi with previously described spirochetes from the surrounding regions of Russia, China and Japan allowed us to suggest multiple ecological niches as the stability factor of the parasitic system.

Dataset Information

Far-Reaching Dispersal of Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato-Infected Blacklegged Ticks by Migratory Songbirds in Canada.

Publications

Far-Reaching Dispersal of <i>Borrelia burgdorferi</i> Sensu Lato-Infected Blacklegged Ticks by Migratory Songbirds in Canada.

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