Role of birds in dispersal of etiologic agents of tick-borne zoonoses, Spain, 2009.

We amplified gene sequences from Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia garinii, B. valaisiana, B. turdi, Rickettsia monacensis, R. helvetica, R. sibirica sibirica, and Rickettsia spp. (including Candidatus Rickettsia vini) in ticks removed from birds in Spain. The findings support the role of passerine birds as possible dispersers of these tick-borne pathogens.

Presence of Borrelia turdi and Borrelia valaisiana (Spirochaetales: Spirochaetaceae) in Ticks Removed From Birds in the North of Spain, 2009-2011.

The genus Borrelia includes species responsible for severe human diseases such as Lyme disease. Birds are involved in their epidemiology as dispersers of infected ticks (Ixodida: Ixodidae) and as reservoirs or amplifiers of the bacterium. Herein, the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) Johnson, Schmid, Hyde, Steigerwalt & Brenner in 336 ticks collected from birds in the north of Spain from 2009 to 2011 was investigated. Nucleic acid extracts from 174 Ixodes frontalis (Panzer), 108 Haemaphysalis punctata Canestrini & Fanzango, 34 Hyalomma marginatum Koch, 17 Ixodes ricinus (L.), and 3 Ixodes spp. were screened for the presence of B. burgdorferi s.l. by PCR. Borrelia turdi was detected in 22 I. frontalis, 2 H. punctata, and 2 I. ricinus Additionally, 1 I. frontalis and 1 H. punctata were found to be infected with the human pathogen Borrelia valaisiana Moreover, 3 I. frontalis showed coinfection with both Borrelia species. This study corroborates the presence of B. turdi and B. valaisiana in ticks from birds in the north of Spain. The presence of these bacteria in larval specimens could suggest the role of birds as their reservoirs, or the occurrence of the cofeeding phenomenon. In addition, the detection of B. turdi and B. valaisiana in H. punctata and I. frontalis ticks, respectively, is reported for the first time.

Molecular analysis of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus and Rickettsia in Hyalomma marginatum ticks removed from patients (Spain) and birds (Spain and Morocco), 2009-2015.

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) was detected in Spain in 2010. The presence of CCHFV in Hyalomma marginatum ticks from migratory birds passing through Morocco during the spring migration strengthened the hypothesis of the arrival of infected ticks transported by birds to the Iberian Peninsula. Furthermore, Hyalomma species are vectors of bacterial infections such as spotted fever rickettsioses. CCHFV and Rickettsia were screened in Hyalomma ticks from Spain attached to patients (n=12) and birds (n=149). In addition, Rickettsia was investigated in 52 Hyalomma ticks from Morocco (previously reported as CCHFV-infected). No sample collected in Spain showed an infection with CCHFV. Two ticks removed from patients (16.7%), as well as 47 (31.5%) and 4 (7.7%) from birds, collected in Spain and Morocco respectively, were infected with Rickettsia aeschlimannii. Rickettsia sibirica subsp. mongolitimonae was also found in 2 ticks from birds collected in Spain (1.3%). The risk of CCHFV-infected ticks attached to migratory birds to reach the North of Spain is low. This study corroborates the presence of R. aeschlimannii in Spain and Morocco, and supports that H. marginatum can be a potential vector of R. sibirica subsp. mongolitimonae in the Iberian Peninsula.