Differential diagnosis of three common Ixodes spp. ticks infesting songbirds of Western Europe: Ixodes arboricola, I. frontalis and I. ricinus

Heylen, Dieter; Coninck, Eliane De; Jansen, Famke; Madder, Maxime

doi:10.1016/j.ttbdis.2014.05.006

Cited by 46 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…In the phylogenetic tree, the 16S rDNA sequences of I. lividus were closely linked to those derived from I. arboricola ticks (Figure ). The similar phylogenetic association has been shown in a study by Heylen et al (). The genetic similarity among I. lividus and I. arboricola ticks is in accordance with their morphological and ecological resemblances.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

First records ofIxodes lividusfrom sand martin (Riparia riparia) nests in Lithuania

Matulaitytė

Radzijevskaja

Paulauskas

2017

Journal of Vector Ecology

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Ixodes lividus (Koch, 1844) ticks are specific parasites of the sand martin Riparia riparia (L.). The distribution range of I. lividus covers Europe (being absent from the Mediterranean area) and Asia. However, until now there have been no reports on the presence of this tick in Lithuania. A total of 47 nests were collected in three different colonies of sand martins in the central part of Lithuania and 46.8% of them were infested with ticks. In total, 2,770 ticks were found and identified as I. lividus based on morphological characteristics. Larvae were the predominant stage, representing 99.6% of all collected ticks. The taxonomic identification of I. lividus was confirmed by sequence analysis of the tick mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA sequences indicates six genotypes of I. lividus transported by the sand martin in the Baltic region. The detection of genotypes like those reported from other European regions pointed to the importance of avian migratory connections, which are associated with the dispersal of I. lividus and the related tick-borne pathogens in the Baltic region. This study represents the first record of I. lividus from sand martin nests in Lithuania.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

First records ofIxodes lividusfrom sand martin (Riparia riparia) nests in Lithuania

Matulaitytė

Radzijevskaja

Paulauskas

2017

Journal of Vector Ecology

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“…These findings are unique to the global ecology of Borrelia transmission cycles. As the widely spread songbird‐specialized tick species under study ( I. frontalis ) is strongly related to the Asiatic I. turdus and the American I. brunneus (Heylen et al ., ), the contribution of ornithophilic species to the terrestrial Borrelia enzootic cycles may even occur on a larger scale than just in Europe, whereby the local competent generalist ticks act as bridging vectors to other hosts, including humans and livestock.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bridging of cryptic Borrelia cycles in European songbirds

Heylen

Krawczyk

Carvalho

et al. 2017

Environmental Microbiology

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The principal European vector for Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., the causative agents of Lyme disease, is the host-generalist tick Ixodes ricinus. Almost all terrestrial host-specialist ticks have been supposed not to contribute to the terrestrial Borrelia transmission cycles. Through an experiment with blackbirds, we show successful transmission by the widespread I. frontalis, an abundant bird-specialized tick that infests a broad range of songbirds. In the first phase of the experiment, we obtained Borrelia-infected I. frontalis (infection rate: 19%) and I. ricinus (17%) nymphs by exposing larvae to wild blackbirds that carried several genospecies (Borrelia turdi, B. valaisiana, B. burgdorferi s.s.). In the second phase, pathogen-free blackbirds were exposed to these infected nymphs. Both tick species were able to infect the birds, as indicated by the analysis of xenodiagnostic I. ricinus larvae which provided evidence for both co-feeding and systemic transmission (infection rates: 10%-60%). Ixodes frontalis was shown to transmit B. turdi spirochetes, while I. ricinus transmitted both B. turdi and B. valaisiana. Neither species transmitted B. burgdorferi s.s. European enzootic cycles of Borrelia between songbirds and their ornithophilic ticks do exist, with I. ricinus potentially acting as a bridging vector towards mammals, including man.

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“…Each tick was photographed dorsally and ventrally using a digital USB-microscope, Dino-Lite Long AM4013TL (AnMo Electronics Corp., Taiwan). Based on photographs and the descriptions in [ 17 – 20 ], the ticks were morphologically identified, i . e .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis in Ticks from Migrating Birds in Sweden

et al. 2015

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Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis (CNM; family Anaplasmataceae) was recently recognized as a potential tick-borne human pathogen. The presence of CNM in mammals, in host-seeking Ixodes ticks and in ticks attached to mammals and birds has been reported recently. We investigated the presence of CNM in ornithophagous ticks from migrating birds. A total of 1,150 ticks (582 nymphs, 548 larvae, 18 undetermined ticks and two adult females) collected from 5,365 birds captured in south-eastern Sweden was screened for CNM by molecular methods. The birds represented 65 different species, of which 35 species were infested with one or more ticks. Based on a combination of morphological and molecular species identification, the majority of the ticks were identified as Ixodes ricinus. Samples were initially screened by real-time PCR targeting the CNM 16S rRNA gene, and confirmed by a second real-time PCR targeting the groEL gene. For positive samples, a 1260 base pair fragment of the 16S rRNA gene was sequenced. Based upon bacterial gene sequence identification, 2.1% (24/1150) of the analysed samples were CNM-positive. Twenty-two out of 24 CNM-positive ticks were molecularly identified as I. ricinus nymphs, and the remaining two were identified as I. ricinus based on morphology. The overall CNM prevalence in I. ricinus nymphs was 4.2%. None of the 548 tested larvae was positive. CNM-positive ticks were collected from 10 different bird species. The highest CNM-prevalences were recorded in nymphs collected from common redpoll (Carduelis flammea, 3/7), thrush nightingale (Luscinia luscinia, 2/29) and dunnock (Prunella modularis, 1/17). The 16S rRNA sequences obtained in this study were all identical to each other and to three previously reported European strains, two of which were obtained from humans. It is concluded that ornithophagous ticks may be infected with CNM and that birds most likely can disperse CNM-infected ticks over large geographical areas.

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Differential diagnosis of three common Ixodes spp. ticks infesting songbirds of Western Europe: Ixodes arboricola, I. frontalis and I. ricinus

Cited by 46 publications

References 34 publications

First records ofIxodes lividusfrom sand martin (Riparia riparia) nests in Lithuania

First records ofIxodes lividusfrom sand martin (Riparia riparia) nests in Lithuania

Bridging of cryptic Borrelia cycles in European songbirds

Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis in Ticks from Migrating Birds in Sweden

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