Spotted fever Rickettsia species in Hyalomma and Ixodes ticks infesting migratory birds in the European Mediterranean area

Particle and Fibre Toxicology

Kenneth Nilsson²  Erik Salaneck⁴  Björn Olsen⁴  Fredrik Nyström⁷  Per-Eric Lindgren⁷  Thomas GT Jaenson³  Thord Fransson¹  Christos Barboutis⁶  Katarina Wallménius⁵ 

[1] Department of Environmental Research and Monitoring, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden;Department of Medical Sciences, Clinical Microbiology, Uppsala University, SE-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden;Medical Entomology Unit, Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden;Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Infectious Diseases, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden;Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Clinical Microbiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden;Antikythira Bird Observatory, Hellenic Ornithological Society, Athens and Natural History Museum of Crete, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece;Division of Medical Microbiology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden

关键词: Ixodes frontalis;    Hyalomma rufipes;    Hyalomma marginatum;    Tick;    Transmission;    Rickettsia africae;    Rickettsia aeschlimannii;    Spotted fever Rickettsia;    Migratory birds;   

Others  :  1183561
DOI  :  10.1186/1756-3305-7-318

 received in 2014-02-25, accepted in 2014-06-18,  发布年份 2014

【 摘 要 】

Background

A few billion birds migrate annually between their breeding grounds in Europe and their wintering grounds in Africa. Many bird species are tick-infested, and as a result of their innate migratory behavior, they contribute significantly to the geographic distribution of pathogens, including spotted fever rickettsiae. The aim of the present study was to characterize, in samples from two consecutive years, the potential role of migrant birds captured in Europe as disseminators of Rickettsia-infected ticks.

Methods

Ticks were collected from a total of 14,789 birds during their seasonal migration northwards in spring 2009 and 2010 at bird observatories on two Mediterranean islands: Capri and Antikythira. All ticks were subjected to RNA extraction followed by cDNA synthesis and individually assayed with a real-time PCR targeting the citrate synthase (gltA) gene. For species identification of Rickettsia, multiple genes were sequenced.

Results

Three hundred and ninety-eight (2.7%) of all captured birds were tick-infested; some birds carried more than one tick. A total number of 734 ticks were analysed of which 353 ± 1 (48%) were Rickettsia-positive; 96% were infected with Rickettsia aeschlimannii and 4% with Rickettsia africae or unidentified Rickettsia species. The predominant tick taxon, Hyalomma marginatum sensu lato constituted 90% (n = 658) of the ticks collected. The remaining ticks were Ixodes frontalis, Amblyomma sp., Haemaphysalis sp., Rhipicephalus sp. and unidentified ixodids. Most ticks were nymphs (66%) followed by larvae (27%) and adult female ticks (0.5%). The majority (65%) of ticks was engorged and nearly all ticks contained visible blood.

Conclusions

Migratory birds appear to have a great impact on the dissemination of Rickettsia-infected ticks, some of which may originate from distant locations. The potential ecological, medical and veterinary implications of such Rickettsia infections need further examination.

【 授权许可】

   
2014 Wallménius et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

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