Are birds reservoir hosts for Borrelia afzelii?

Franke, Jan; Moldenhauer, A.; Hildebrandt, Anke; Dorn, Wolfram

doi:10.1016/j.ttbdis.2010.03.001

Cited by 30 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Thrushes (Turdus spp.) in particular seem to be important reservoirs of various Borrelia spp., which has also been suggested in previous studies (5,9,14,26).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…In a study on a bird conservation island in the Baltic Sea, Bo. afzelii infections were evident in 11 out of 27 Borreliainfected bird-feeding ticks, and 6 of them were larvae (14). Transovarial transmission of borreliae in I. ricinus is very rare (63), and due to the absence of other infected ticks, cofeeding transmission seems very unlikely in the above-mentioned samples.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…Other European studies reported Borrelia sp. infection rates of bird-feeding ticks ranging from 1.4% in Sweden (5) to 27.4% in Poland (9) and from 14.1% to 27.6% in Germany (14,26,54).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Coexistence of Pathogens in Host-Seeking and Feeding Ticks within a Single Natural Habitat in Central Germany

Franke

Fritzsch

Tomaso³

et al. 2010

Appl Environ Microbiol

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The importance of established and emerging tick-borne pathogens in Central and Northern Europe is steadily increasing. In 2007, we collected Ixodes ricinus ticks feeding on birds (n ‫؍‬ 211) and rodents (n ‫؍‬ 273), as well as host-seeking stages (n ‫؍‬ 196), in a habitat in central Germany. In order to find out more about their natural transmission cycles, the ticks were tested for the presence of Lyme disease borreliae, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae, Francisella tularensis, and babesiae. Altogether, 20.1% of the 680 ticks examined carried at least one pathogen. Bird-feeding ticks were more frequently infected with Borrelia spp. (15.2%) and A. phagocytophilum (3.2%) than rodent-feeding ticks (2.6%; 1.1%) or questing ticks (5.1%; 0%). Babesia spp. showed higher prevalence rates in ticks parasitizing birds (13.2%) and host-seeking ticks (10.7%), whereas ticks from small mammals were less frequently infected (6.6%). SFG rickettsiae and F. tularensis were also found in ticks collected off birds (2.1%; 1.2%), rodents (1.8%; 1.5%), and vegetation (4.1%; 1.6%). Various combinations of coinfections occurred in 10.9% of all positive ticks, indicating interaction of transmission cycles. Our results suggest that birds not only are important reservoirs for several pathogens but also act as vehicles for infected ticks and might therefore play a key role in the dispersal of tick-borne diseases.

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“…Thrushes (Turdus spp.) in particular seem to be important reservoirs of various Borrelia spp., which has also been suggested in previous studies (5,9,14,26).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

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Coexistence of Pathogens in Host-Seeking and Feeding Ticks within a Single Natural Habitat in Central Germany

Franke

Fritzsch

Tomaso³

et al. 2010

Appl Environ Microbiol

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“…Studies in France (93) and England (94) found that introduced species of rodents were infected with the bird-adapted B. garinii. Similarly, other studies found that birds can transmit the rodent-adapted B. afzelii (95,96). Rodents or birds that are coinfected with B. afzelii and B. garinii could transmit both species to feeding ticks.…”

Section: Cross-immunity and Co-occurrence Of Borrelia Ospc Strainsmentioning

confidence: 79%

Cross-Immunity and Community Structure of a Multiple-Strain Pathogen in the Tick Vector

Durand

Jacquet

Paillard

et al. 2015

Appl Environ Microbiol

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bMany vector-borne pathogens consist of multiple strains that circulate in both the vertebrate host and the arthropod vector. Characterization of the community of pathogen strains in the arthropod vector is therefore important for understanding the epidemiology of mixed vector-borne infections. Borrelia afzelii and B. garinii are two species of tick-borne bacteria that cause Lyme disease in humans. These two sympatric pathogens use the same tick, Ixodes ricinus, but are adapted to different classes of vertebrate hosts. Both Borrelia species consist of multiple strains that are classified using the highly polymorphic ospC gene. Vertebrate cross-immunity against the OspC antigen is predicted to structure the community of multiple-strain Borrelia pathogens. Borrelia isolates were cultured from field-collected I. ricinus ticks over a period spanning 11 years. The Borrelia species of each isolate was identified using a reverse line blot (RLB) assay. Deep sequencing was used to characterize the ospC communities of 190 B. afzelii isolates and 193 B. garinii isolates. Infections with multiple ospC strains were common in ticks, but vertebrate cross-immunity did not influence the strain structure in the tick vector. The pattern of genetic variation at the ospC locus suggested that vertebrate cross-immunity exerts strong selection against intermediately divergent ospC alleles. Deep sequencing found that more than 50% of our isolates contained exotic ospC alleles derived from other Borrelia species. Two alternative explanations for these exotic ospC alleles are cryptic coinfections that were not detected by the RLB assay or horizontal transfer of the ospC gene between Borrelia species. Many vector-borne pathogens consist of multiple genetically distinct strains (1-4). The adaptive arm of the vertebrate immune system plays a key role in generating and maintaining this diversity of pathogen strains (5-7). Genetic diversity is often the highest at loci coding for surface-exposed pathogen molecules that function during the invasion and infection of host tissues (8, 9). The study of these highly polymorphic pathogen molecules is important for understanding how cross-reactive acquired immunity can mediate indirect competition and superinfection in the vertebrate host (10, 11). In addition, these pathogen outer surface proteins are often used to characterize pathogen strains because they provide an upper estimate of pathogen strain richness.In vector-borne diseases, the community of pathogen strains can be studied in both the vertebrate host and the arthropod vector. The vertebrate immune system creates nonrandom associations between pathogen strains (1, 12) that are subsequently transmitted to the arthropod vector. Conversely, the study of mixed infections in the arthropod vector can provide information on the processes that structure the community of multiple pathogen strains in the vertebrate host (13,14). In addition, estimates of strain richness in the arthropod vector are important for understanding the frequency with which ...

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“…There are several studies reporting the presence of B. afzelii in bird-feeding ticks (Humair et al 1998, Comstedt et al 2006, Kipp et al 2006, Poupon et al 2006, Taragel'ova et al 2008, Franke et al 2010b), although B. afzelii is regarded to be a rodent-associated genospecies in Europe (Humair et al 1999, Hanincova et al 2003a). It has been previously shown that birds do not serve as adequate reservoirs for B. afzelii, and furthermore, that the uptake of avian blood initiates the elimination of B. afzelii in the tick (Kurtenbach et al 2002).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tick-Borne Pathogens in Ticks Feeding on Migratory Passerines in Western Part of Estonia

Geller

Nazarova

Katargina

et al. 2013

Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases

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During southward migration in the years [2006][2007][2008][2009] 178 migratory passerines of 24 bird species infested with ticks were captured at bird stations in Western Estonia. In total, 249 nymphal ticks were removed and analyzed individually for the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.), tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), and Anaplasma phagocytophilum. The majority of ticks were collected from Acrocephalus (58%), Turdus (13%), Sylvia (8%), and Parus (6%) bird species. Tick-borne pathogens were detected in nymphs removed from Acrocephalus, Turdus, and Parus bird species. TBEV of the European subtype was detected in 1 I. ricinus nymph removed from A. palustris. B. burgdorferi s.l. DNA was found in 11 ticks (4.4%) collected from Turdus and Parus species. Birdassociated B. garinii and B. valaisiana were detected in I. ricinus nymphs removed from T. merula. Rodentassociated B. afzelii was detected in 3 I. ricinus nymphs from 2 P. major birds. One of the B. afzelii-positive nymphs was infected with a mix of 2 B. afzelii strains, whereas 1 of these strains was also detected in another nymph feeding on the same great tit. The sharing of the same B. afzelii strain by 2 nymphs indicates a possible transmission of B. afzelii by co-feeding on a bird. A. phagocytophilum DNA was detected in 1 I. ricinus nymph feeding on a T. iliacus. The results of the study confirm the possible role of migratory birds in the dispersal of ticks infected with tick-borne pathogens along the southward migration route via Estonia.

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Are birds reservoir hosts for Borrelia afzelii?

Cited by 30 publications

References 28 publications

Coexistence of Pathogens in Host-Seeking and Feeding Ticks within a Single Natural Habitat in Central Germany

Coexistence of Pathogens in Host-Seeking and Feeding Ticks within a Single Natural Habitat in Central Germany

Cross-Immunity and Community Structure of a Multiple-Strain Pathogen in the Tick Vector

Tick-Borne Pathogens in Ticks Feeding on Migratory Passerines in Western Part of Estonia

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