Do birds affect Lyme disease risk? Range expansion of the vector‐borne pathogen Borrelia burgdorferi

Brinkerhoff, R. Jory; Folsom-O'Keefe, Corrine M.; Tsao, Kimberly; Diuk‐Wasser, Maria A.

doi:10.1890/090062

Cited by 80 publications

(89 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Testing for B. burgdorferi in our study was not performed to identify vectors but rather to potentially learn about enzootic maintenance of the pathogen in local or migratory birds and their ticks, given that spirochetes in the avian blood could have been detected by our approach of testing the blood directly or testing the engorged ticks. Birds play a key role in the ecology of Lyme disease through contributing to the range expansion of ticks and maintaining B. burgdorferi in the environment in areas where Lyme disease is recognized as endemic or emerging (4,26,(68)(69)(70). Regional studies of pathogen prevalence are increasingly important from ecological and human health perspectives, especially considering that the annual movement patterns of many of the birds connect geographic zones in which Lyme disease is endemic with those in which it is nonendemic.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Avian Migrants Facilitate Invasions of Neotropical Ticks and Tick-Borne Pathogens into the United States

Cohen

Auckland

Marra

et al. 2015

Appl Environ Microbiol

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bMigratory birds have the potential to transport exotic vectors and pathogens of human and animal health importance across vast distances. We systematically examined birds that recently migrated to the United States from the Neotropics for ticks. We screened both ticks and birds for tick-borne pathogens, including Rickettsia species and Borrelia burgdorferi. Over two spring seasons (2013 and 2014), 3.56% of birds (n ‫؍‬ 3,844) representing 42.35% of the species examined (n ‫؍‬ 85) were infested by ticks. Ground-foraging birds with reduced fuel stores were most commonly infested. Eight tick species were identified, including seven in the genus Amblyomma, of which only Amblyomma maculatum/Amblyomma triste is known to be established in the United States. Most ticks on birds (67%) were neotropical species with ranges in Central and South America. Additionally, a single Ixodes genus tick was detected. A total of 29% of the ticks (n ‫؍‬ 137) and no avian blood samples (n ‫؍‬ 100) were positive for infection with Rickettsia species, including Rickettsia parkeri, an emerging cause of spotted fever in humans in the southern United States, a species in the group of Rickettsia monacensis, and uncharacterized species and endosymbionts of unknown pathogenicity. No avian tick or blood samples tested positive for B. burgdorferi, the etiologic agent of Lyme disease. An extrapolation of our findings suggests that anywhere from 4 to 39 million exotic neotropical ticks are transported to the United States annually on migratory songbirds, with uncertain consequences for human and animal health if the current barriers to their establishment and spread are overcome.T he large-scale seasonal movements of migrants provide opportunities for bird-associated parasites to rapidly disperse over large spatial scales, with implications for human and animal health (1, 2). Birds are increasingly recognized for their roles as reservoirs and hosts to vectors for a suite of emerging zoonotic diseases, including West Nile virus, Lyme disease, influenza A virus, and H5N1 avian influenza virus (3, 4), and they have been implicated in the range expansion and introduction of new pathogens. Additionally, migratory birds have the potential to disperse ectoparasites and their associated pathogens over long distances (5-7).Migratory birds that overwinter in Central and South America are frequently infested with Amblyomma tick species (family Ixodidae), which are common carriers of Rickettsia species parasites (8-11). There are 45 Amblyomma species endemic to the Neotropics (12), where parasitism rates on birds have been found to vary from 6.5% in Panama (10) to 40% in the Brazilian Amazon (9). Rickettsia species of bacteria are transmitted to vertebrates by arthropod vectors, including Amblyomma ticks. The pathogenicity of many tick-borne Rickettsia species is unknown, but there are Ͼ25 recognized species in the zoonotic spotted fever group, including those that cause Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Mediterranean spotted fever, North Asian tick typhus, and Q...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Avian Migrants Facilitate Invasions of Neotropical Ticks and Tick-Borne Pathogens into the United States

Cohen

Auckland

Marra

et al. 2015

Appl Environ Microbiol

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“…The American Redstart was my control species because this species may not be able to support the pathogen because at least two tick larvae were tested and were not infected with the pathogen (Brinkerhoff et al 2011). However, the study found that there was a positive relationship between the number of American Redstarts observed and Lyme disease rate for 008 Woodbury and 012 Warren.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The role of birds in Lyme disease could be very large (Brinkerhoff et al, 2011) stated that ticks derived from birds can influence B. burgdorferi transmission dynamics, either "by establishing new enzootic Lyme disease foci through the deposition of infected larval ticks … or by dispersing infected larvae or nymphs that would then molt and parasitize humans.…”

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confidence: 99%

Investigation of a Potential Relationship Between Wild Bird Populations and Human Lyme Disease Rate in Connecticut from 1991-2002

Al-Ali¹

2017

IJB

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Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in North America. Borrelia burgdorferi, is the pathogen, and the black-legged tick carries the bacteria and spreads it when feeding on the blood of animals and humans. At least 70 passerine species and one species of woodpecker in North American are parasitized by immature black-legged ticks. This hypothesis predicts that there would be a positive relationship between Lyme disease rates and bird numbers that infected with the pathogen, and there would be no relationship between Lyme disease rate and bird numbers that not known to be infected with the pathogen. The study depended on the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) to get bird species for 14 routes across Connecticut, and on the Connecticut DHS to get Lyme disease rates for the time period of the study (1991)(1992)(1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002). The range of years was from 1991 to 2002 because of a change in how Lyme disease cases were reported starting in 2003. The bird data were: one group that included all 17 bird species that carry the pathogen, two species separately that are known to become infected by Lyme pathogen (American Robin and Gray Catbird), and a control species not known to carry the pathogen (American Redstart). The study found significant positive relationships between bird numbers and human Lyme disease rate in two routes for the SCLP group, one route for American Robin, three routes for Gray Catbird, and two routes for American Redstart. Only Gray Catbird had a significant negative relationship with human Lyme disease rate in one route. Based on the positive relationships that appeared for American Redstart, the control species, and the few significant relationships for birds known to carry the pathogen, the study rejected the hypothesis that there is a strong relationship between numbers of birds that could be infected with B. burgdorferi and the rate of Lyme disease in people as measured by the methods used in this study.

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“…Although birds, small mammals, and lizards are all natural reservoirs of B. burgdorferi sensu lato (Bbsl), birds may play a key role in the dissemination and spatial distribution of Borrelia, notably as a result of their migratory behavior (Olsen et al 1993, 1995, Kurtenbach et al 1998, Comstedt et al 2006, Duneau et al 2008, Brinkerhoff et al 2009, Dubska et al 2009). Seabirds may be particularly important in the global circulation of LB spirochetes (Olsen et al 1995); these birds are widely distributed and breed in large groups that often include a diverse range of interacting species (Schreiber and Burger 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seabirds and the Circulation of Lyme Borreliosis Bacteria in the North Pacific

Lobato

Pearce-Duvet

Staszewski

et al. 2011

Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases

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Seabirds act as natural reservoirs to Lyme borreliosis spirochetes and may play a significant role in the global circulation of these pathogens. While Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (Bbsl) has been shown to occur in ticks collected from certain locations in the North Pacific, little is known about interspecific differences in exposure within the seabird communities of this region. We examined the prevalence of anti-Bbsl antibodies in 805 individuals of nine seabird species breeding across the North Pacific. Seroprevalence varied strongly among species and locations. Murres (Uria spp.) showed the highest antibody prevalence and may play a major role in facilitating Bbsl circulation at a worldwide scale. Other species showed little or no signs of exposure, despite being present in multispecific colonies with seropositive birds. Complex dynamics may be operating in this wide scale, natural host-parasite system, possibly mediated by the host immune system and host specialization of the tick vector.

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Do birds affect Lyme disease risk? Range expansion of the vector‐borne pathogen Borrelia burgdorferi

Cited by 80 publications

References 47 publications

Avian Migrants Facilitate Invasions of Neotropical Ticks and Tick-Borne Pathogens into the United States

Avian Migrants Facilitate Invasions of Neotropical Ticks and Tick-Borne Pathogens into the United States

Investigation of a Potential Relationship Between Wild Bird Populations and Human Lyme Disease Rate in Connecticut from 1991-2002

Seabirds and the Circulation of Lyme Borreliosis Bacteria in the North Pacific

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