» Articles » PMID: 20052286

Dissemination of Spotted Fever Rickettsia Agents in Europe by Migrating Birds

Overview
Journal PLoS One
Date 2010 Jan 7
PMID 20052286
Citations 53
Authors
Affiliations
Soon will be listed here.
Abstract

Migratory birds are known to play a role as long-distance vectors for many microorganisms. To investigate whether this is true of rickettsial agents as well, we characterized tick infestation and gathered ticks from 13,260 migratory passerine birds in Sweden. A total of 1127 Ixodes spp. ticks were removed from these birds and the extracted DNA from 957 of them was available for analyses. The DNA was assayed for detection of Rickettsia spp. using real-time PCR, followed by DNA sequencing for species identification. Rickettsia spp. organisms were detected in 108 (11.3%) of the ticks. Rickettsia helvetica, a spotted fever rickettsia associated with human infections, was predominant among the PCR-positive samples. In 9 (0.8%) of the ticks, the partial sequences of 17kDa and ompB genes showed the greatest similarity to Rickettsia monacensis, an etiologic agent of Mediterranean spotted fever-like illness, previously described in southern Europe as well as to the Rickettsia sp.IrITA3 strain. For 15 (1.4%) of the ticks, the 17kDa, ompB, gltA and ompA genes showed the greatest similarity to Rickettsia sp. strain Davousti, Rickettsia japonica and Rickettsia heilongjiangensis, all closely phylogenetically related, the former previously found in Amblyomma tholloni ticks in Africa and previously not detected in Ixodes spp. ticks. The infestation prevalence of ticks infected with rickettsial organisms was four times higher among ground foraging birds than among other bird species, but the two groups were equally competent in transmitting Rickettsia species. The birds did not seem to serve as reservoir hosts for Rickettsia spp., but in one case it seems likely that the bird was rickettsiemic and that the ticks had acquired the bacteria from the blood of the bird. In conclusion, migratory passerine birds host epidemiologically important vector ticks and Rickettsia species and contribute to the geographic distribution of spotted fever rickettsial agents and their diseases.

Citing Articles

Wide spectrum of tick-borne pathogens in juvenile Ixodes ricinus collected from autumn-migrating birds in the Vistula River Valley, Poland.

Kulisz J, Zajac Z, Foucault-Simonin A, Wozniak A, Filipiuk M, Kloskowski J BMC Vet Res. 2024; 20(1):556.

PMID: 39643916 PMC: 11622654. DOI: 10.1186/s12917-024-04415-y.


East-to-west dispersal of bird-associated ixodid ticks in the northern Palaearctic: Review of already reported tick species according to longitudinal migratory avian hosts and first evidence on the genetic connectedness of between Siberia and Europe.

Pito A, Fedorov D, Brlik V, Kontschan J, Keve G, Sandor A Curr Res Parasitol Vector Borne Dis. 2024; 6:100201.

PMID: 39188549 PMC: 11345942. DOI: 10.1016/j.crpvbd.2024.100201.


Novel Tick-Borne Anaplasmataceae Genotypes in Tropical Birds from the Brazilian Pantanal Wetland.

Cordova A, Fecchio A, Calchi A, Dias C, Mongruel A, Freitas das Neves L Microorganisms. 2024; 12(5).

PMID: 38792791 PMC: 11124045. DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms12050962.


Detection of Pathogens and Ticks on Sedentary and Migratory Birds in Two Corsican Wetlands (France, Mediterranean Area).

Defaye B, Moutailler S, Vollot B, Galon C, Gonzalez G, Moraes R Microorganisms. 2023; 11(4).

PMID: 37110292 PMC: 10141976. DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11040869.


Signatures in in vitro infection of NSC-34 mouse neurons and their cell nucleus with Rickettsia helvetica.

Kask L, Pahlson C, Staxang K, Nilsson K BMC Microbiol. 2023; 23(1):113.

PMID: 37085774 PMC: 10120103. DOI: 10.1186/s12866-023-02859-0.


References
1.
Bown K, Begon M, Bennett M, Woldehiwet Z, Ogden N . Seasonal dynamics of Anaplasma phagocytophila in a rodent-tick (Ixodes trianguliceps) system, United Kingdom. Emerg Infect Dis. 2003; 9(1):63-70. PMC: 2873734. DOI: 10.3201/eid0901.020169. View

2.
Palmgren H, Sellin M, Bergstrom S, Olsen B . Enteropathogenic bacteria in migrating birds arriving in Sweden. Scand J Infect Dis. 1997; 29(6):565-8. DOI: 10.3109/00365549709035895. View

3.
Olsen B, Jaenson T, Bergstrom S . Prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato-infected ticks on migrating birds. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1995; 61(8):3082-7. PMC: 167585. DOI: 10.1128/aem.61.8.3082-3087.1995. View

4.
Lundstrom J, Lindstrom K, Olsen B, Dufva R, Krakower D . Prevalence of sindbis virus neutralizing antibodies among Swedish passerines indicates that thrushes are the main amplifying hosts. J Med Entomol. 2001; 38(2):289-97. DOI: 10.1603/0022-2585-38.2.289. View

5.
Waldenstrom J, Lundkvist A, Falk K, Garpmo U, Bergstrom S, Lindegren G . Migrating birds and tickborne encephalitis virus. Emerg Infect Dis. 2007; 13(8):1215-8. PMC: 2828075. DOI: 10.3201/eid1308.061416. View