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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 2009, p. 596-602, Vol. 75, No. 3
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01674-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Differential Role of Passerine Birds in Distribution of Borrelia Spirochetes, Based on Data from Ticks Collected from Birds during the Postbreeding Migration Period in Central Europe{triangledown}

Lenka Dubska,1* Ivan Literak,1 Elena Kocianova,2 Veronika Taragelova,3 and Oldrich Sychra1

Department of Biology and Wildlife Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Palackeho 1-3, 612 42 Brno, Czech Republic,1 Institute of Virology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska cesta 9, 842 45 Bratislava, Slovakia,2 Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska cesta 9, 845 06 Bratislava, Slovakia3

Received 19 July 2008/ Accepted 1 December 2008

Borrelia spirochetes in bird-feeding ticks were studied in the Czech Republic. During the postbreeding period (July to September 2005), 1,080 passerine birds infested by 2,240 Ixodes ricinus subadult ticks were examined. Borrelia garinii was detected in 22.2% of the ticks, Borrelia valaisiana was detected in 12.8% of the ticks, Borrelia afzelii was detected in 1.6% of the ticks, and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto was detected in 0.3% of the ticks. After analysis of infections in which the blood meal volume and the stage of the ticks were considered, we concluded that Eurasian blackbirds (Turdus merula), song thrushes (Turdus philomelos), and great tits (Parus major) are capable of transmitting B. garinii; that juvenile blackbirds and song thrushes are prominent reservoirs for B. garinii spirochetes; that some other passerine birds investigated play minor roles in transmitting B. garinii; and that the presence B. afzelii in ticks results from infection in a former stage. Thus, while B. garinii transmission is associated with only a few passerine bird species, these birds have the potential to distribute millions of Lyme disease spirochetes between urban areas.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Biology and Wildlife Diseases, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Palackeho 1/3, 612 42 Brno, Czech Republic. Phone: 420 543 136 730. Fax: 420 541 562 631. E-mail: dubska{at}mou.cz

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 5 December 2008.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 2009, p. 596-602, Vol. 75, No. 3
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01674-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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