THE ROLE OF MIGRATORY PASSERINE BIRDS IN PATHOGEN EXCHANGE BETWEEN COFEEDING IXODES RICINUS TICKS (ACARINA, IXODIDAE)

About authors:

H. V. Dubinina, Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya Emb. 1, 199034 Saint Petersburg, Russia

A. N. Alekseev, Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya emb., 1, 199034 St. Petersburg,
RUSSIA

Acknowledgments:

The authors wish to express their cordial thanks to Olga V. Voltzit (Zoological Museum of Moscow State University, Russia) for the identification of immature tick stages, and to Anatoly P. Shapoval and Nikita S. Chernetsov ("Rybachiy" Biological Station, Kaliningrad Region, Russia) for technical assistance with bird identification and tick collec-tion. Sergei I. Golovatch (Moscow) has kindly corrected the English of an advanced draft. Both the study and publication were supported in part through grants No. 02 - 04 - 48654 and No. 0 2 - 0 4 - 63103 rendered by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research.

 

 

Annotation:

Prevalence of tick-borne pathogens was com-pared in immature stages of Ixodes ricinus ticks collected from vegetation and from migratory pas-serine birds on the Curonian Spit, Kalinigrad Re-gion, Russia. Great similarity of pathogen preva-lence was noted in both cases in all ticks tested as singletons. No pathogens were detected among the tick larvae captured from vegetation, whereas in the larvae taken from birds a dual (Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii) infection was detected. In one nymph, even a triple infection (B. afzelii, B. garinii and Ehrlichia muris) was revealed. In contrast, this never occurred in tick immatures taken from vege-tation. Apparently, bird blood may serve not only a source of tick-borne pathogens (e.g. B. garinii, according to Kurtenbach et al. [2002]), but also as an amplifier for their reproduction. A statistically significant prevalence of the pathogens among ticks collected from birds in pools even as small as 2 - 3 specimens over singletons allows to empha-size the roles the migratory birds play in pathogen exchange between cofeeding immature ixodid ticks.

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