Rickettsia spp. in ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) from wild birds in Caldas, Colombia.

Several bacteria belonging to the genus Rickettsia are recognized as causal agents of diseases in domestic and wild animals and humans. These bacteria are considered emerging or reemerging and are transmitted by ticks, fleas, and lice vectors. In recent decades, there have been reports of rickettsias in ticks of the genus Amblyomma, Ixodes, and Haemaphysalis collected from wild birds. Accordingly, birds play a plausible role in the transport and spread of ticks infected by Rickettsia spp. In this study, we performed molecular detection of Rickettsia species in ticks collected from wild birds in the department of Caldas, Colombia. We detected and identified Rickettsia amblyommatis, 'Candidatus Rickettsia colombianensi' and a Rickettsia sp. closely related to 'Candidatus Rickettsia tarasevichiae' and Rickettsia canadensis. This study contributes to the knowledge on infection by Rickettsia in ticks collected from wild birds in Colombia. We also provide the first reports of infection by R. amblyommatis in the genus Ixodes collected from wild birds in South America and the presence of Rickettsia at elevations above 3000 m a.s.l.

Associations between wild birds and hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) in Colombia.

Ticks of the family Ixodidae are vectors of important pathogens in human and animal health. Birds are involved in long-distance transport and dispersion of hard ticks. Tick infestations on wild birds mostly involve species within the genera Amblyomma, Ixodes, and Haemaphysalis. In Colombia, tick research is scarce and there are no studies to date about the associations between wild birds and ticks. We aimed to contribute to the knowledge of the associations between wild birds and hard ticks based on the collection of 2314 wild birds belonging to 29 families in Caldas - Colombia between 2015 and 2019. In total, we collected 133 hard ticks that were found parasitizing 78 birds representing 45 species and 14 wild bird families. We report at least seven tick species on birds confirmed by morphological and molecular methods: Amblyomma longirostre, Amblyomma varium, Amblyomma dissimile, Amblyomma ovale, Amblyomma nodosum, Amblyomma calcaratum and Haemaphysalis leporispalustris. In addition, we recorded three Ixodes species, which yielded DNA sequences that did not have high identity (≤ 95 %) to any species in GenBank. Ticks were found infesting resident and migratory boreal birds. This is the first study addressing the associations between wild birds and hard ticks in Colombia. We describe new associations between birds and ticks in the Americas.