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Tick-distribution maps. Areas from where Hyalomma marginatum (green) and Hyalomma rufipes (red) have been reported. Based on tick maps from the “European centre for disease prevention and control” and Walker et al. 3435.
Source publication
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 presen...
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Although livestock farming (sheep, goats, pigs, and cattle) is an important economic activity in Corsica, a French Mediterranean island, knowledge about the tick fauna and microorganisms carried by them remains scarce. This study aimed to investigate the presence and perform molecular characterization of Anaplasmataceae, Rickettsia spp., and Borrel...
Citations
... Compared to mammals or poultry, wild birds carry a higher proportion of Proteobacteria bacteria in their intestines. The Proteobacteria consists largely of pathogenic bacteria such as Campylobacter, Escherichia, and Vibrio (Diakou et al., 2016;Wallménius et al., 2014), an indicator of gut microbiota instability (Shin et al., 2015). The detection of a high abundance of Proteobacteria in little egret feces is noteworthy; however, it needs to be further explored as their function in birds is unknown. ...
Background
The digestive tract of birds contains diverse microbiota that are essential for their health and survival, and these gut microbiota are influenced by a variety of factors. To compare the diversity in fecal microbiota of the same bird species in different environments, this paper collected feces of Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) and environmental (soil and water) samples from coastal salt water and inland freshwater areas to explore how fecal microbiota responds to different environments using 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing methods.
Results
The main fecal microbiota from two sampling sites were similar at the phylum level. In terms of genus level, the dominant genera in feces from salt-water habitats (SWF) were Escherichia-Shigella (14.448%), Enterococcus (10.064%), Vibrio (7.812%), whereas there were Sporosarcina (18.241%), Citrobacter (11.987%), Acinetobacter (6.201%), Kurthia (5.725%) in feces from freshwater habitats (FWF). A few ASVs were sharedamong the egrets and the environmental samples in the two regions. The fecal microbiota between the two sampling sites showed no significant differences in α-diversity and were significant in β-diversity; there were no significant differences between the environmental microbiota diversity of the two sites. In contrast, most of the parameters reflecting α-diversity and β-diversity were shown to be significantly different between the fecal and environmental microbiota. In composition of microbiota function, the fecal microbiota of little egret and the environment microbiota were similar in relative abundances in the proportion of kegg level 1 functional pathways. But there were significant differences in some level 2 and level 3 functional pathways between the egrets from two habitats. Moreover, a portion of ASVs classified as opportunistic pathogens were detected in the feces of the egrets.
Conclusions
The results of this study indicate that there are differences in the fecal microbiota of the little egrets in different environments, and the differences are less affected by soil and water. Considering that Vibrio which was more common in the guts of marine fish, it is hypothesized that regional differences in fecal microbiota composition are related to changes in food types.
... Generally, tick larvae and nymphs usually infest small mammals and birds, while adults prefer large mammals [3]. Larvae and nymphs of tick species belonging to the genera Ixodes, Haemaphysalis and Hyalomma can parasitize groundfeeding and ground-breeding birds [4][5][6], while the genera Dermacentor and Rhipicephalus usually do not parasitize birds [7,8]. ...
Background
Hyalomma marginatum and H. rufipes are two-host tick species, which are mainly distributed in southern Europe, Africa to central Asia but may also be found in Central and Northern Europe through introduction by migratory birds.
Methods
Ticks were collected while feeding or crawling on animals and humans, or from the environment, in different regions in Germany, between 2019 and 2021 in a citizen science study and from 2022 to 2023 in the wake of this study.
Results
From 2019 to 2023, a total of 212 Hyalomma adult ticks were detected in Germany. This included 132 H. marginatum and 43 H. rufipes ticks sent to research institutions and 37 photographic records that were only identified to genus level. The number of detected ticks varied over the years, with the highest number of 119 specimens recorded in 2019, followed by 57 in 2020. Most of the specimens were collected from horses, while some were collected from other animals, humans or found crawling on human clothes or other objects inside or outside houses. The screening of 175 specimens for Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus and of 132 specimens for Babesia/Theileria spp. by PCR gave negative results, while human-pathogenic Rickettsia were detected in 44% (77/175) of the total samples. Subsequent amplicon sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of representative samples determined the species of 41 Rickettsia aeschlimannii and one R. slovaca sequences.
Conclusions
Analysis of climatic factors indicated a significantly higher probability of Hyalomma occurrence at locations with higher average spring temperature during the years 2019 and 2020 compared to randomly generated pseudo-absence locations. Dry and hot conditions probably facilitated Hyalomma nymphs’ survival and molting into adults during these years.
Graphical Abstract
... This enhances the feasibility of public health risks as these ticks may occasionally infest humans (Guglielmone and Robbins, 2018). Rickettsia aeschlimannii has been detected in all life stages of ticks, such as adult females, males, larvae, and nymphs (Raoult et al., 2002;Shpynov et al., 2009;Germanakis et al., 2013;Orkun et al., 2014;Wallmenius et al., 2014;Tosoni et al., 2016). This study presents the first molecular evidence of R. aeschlimannii in H. bispinosa and H. montgomeryi ticks, which suggests that other tick species could also serve as competent vectors for this pathogen in the region. ...
Tick-borne Rickettsia spp. have long been known as causative agents for zoonotic diseases. We have previously characterized Rickettsia spp. in different ticks infesting a broad range of hosts in Pakistan, however, knowledge regarding Rickettsia aeschlimannii in Haemaphysalis and Hyalomma ticks is missing. This study aimed to obtain a better understanding about R. aeschlimannii in Pakistan and to update the knowledge about its worldwide epidemiology. Among 369 examined domestic animals, 247 (66%) were infested by 872 ticks. Collected ticks were morphologically delineated into three genera Rhipicephalus, Hyalomma, and Haemaphysalis. Adult females were the most prevalent (number ₌ 376, 43.1%) followed by nymphs (303, 34.74 %), and males (193, 22.13 %). Overall 223 tick’s genomic DNA samples were isolated and screened for Rickettsia spp. by the amplification of rickettsial gltA, ompA, and ompB partial gene via conventional PCR. Rickettsial DNA was detected in 8/223 (3.58%) ticks including nymphs (5/122, 4.0%) and adult females (3/86, 3.48%). The rickettsial gltA, ompA, and ompB sequences were detected in Hyalomma turanicum (2 nymphs and 1 adult female), Haemaphysalis bispinosa (1 nymph and 1 adult female) and Haemaphysalis montgomeryi (2 nymphs and 1 adult female). These rickettsial sequences showed 99.71-100% identity with the R. aeschlimannii, and phylogenetically clustered with the same species. None of the tested Rhipicephalus microplus, Hyalomma isaaci, Hyalomma scupense, Rhipicephalus turanicus, Hyalomma anatolicum, Rhipicephalus haemaphysaloides, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Haemaphysalis cornupunctata, and Haemaphysalis sulcata ticks were found positive for rickettsial DNA. Comprehensive surveillance studies should be adopted to update the knowledge regarding tick-borne zoonotic Rickettsia species, evaluate their risks to humans and livestock, and investigate the unexamined cases of illness after tick bite among livestock holders in the country.
... Figure S2: Pairwise sequence alignment of the partial 16S rRNA gene for the human granulocytic anaplasmosis agent (GenBank U025211) and the 487-bp sequence obtained in this study (OR623250). References [21,[39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][49][50][51][52][53][54][58][59][60] are cited in the supplementary materials. Institutional Review Board Statement: Ethical review and approval were waived for this study due to the fact that birds were captured during the normal trapping activities of members of the "Torquilla" ringing group, belonging to GIA (Iberian Ringing Group). ...
Migratory and local birds may disperse ticks and their associated pathogens. The aim of this study was to provide information regarding ticks infesting birds in Asturias, a region that accounts for most of the Lyme disease hospitalizations in Spain. From September 2021 to April 2023, trained and experienced bird-banders collected ticks from birds in two estuary and four forest locations. A total of 1698 birds (52 species, 38 genera, and 26 families) were captured. A total of 51 ticks (28 larvae, 20 nymphs, and 3 females) were collected from 43 birds, belonging to three species: Ixodes ricinus (31), Ixodes frontalis (18), and Haemaphysalis concinna (1). The average prevalence of tick infestation was 2.5% and the average tick burden was 1.2 ticks per infested host. The bird species Turdus merula, Parus major, Luscinia svecica, and Anthus pratensis were among the most infested. Anaplasma phagocytophilum was detected in one I. ricinus nymph collected from Phylloscopus collybita. We have not detected Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., Rickettsia spp., Coxiella burnetii, or piroplasmids in any of the 51 analyzed ticks. These results suggest low infestation rate in migratory/estuary birds and a higher rate in forest/sedentary ones. Despite this, the detection of pathogens, although with low prevalence, can pose a risk to public health.
... Figure S2: Pairwise sequence alignment of the partial 16S rRNA gene for the human granulocytic anaplasmosis agent (GenBank U025211) and the 487-bp sequence obtained in this study (OR623250). References [21,[39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][49][50][51][52][53][54][58][59][60] are cited in the supplementary materials. Institutional Review Board Statement: Ethical review and approval were waived for this study due to the fact that birds were captured during the normal trapping activities of members of the "Torquilla" ringing group, belonging to GIA (Iberian Ringing Group). ...
Migratory and local birds may disperse ticks and their associated pathogens. The aim of this study was to provide information regarding tick infesting birds in Asturias, region that accounts for most of the Lyme disease hospitalizations in Spain. From September 2021 and April 2023 trained and experienced bird- banders collected ticks from birds in six estuary and forest locations. A total of 1,698 birds (52 species, 38 genera and 26 families) were captured. A total 51 ticks (28 larvae, 20 nymphs and 3 females) were collected from 43 birds, belonging to three species: Ixodes ricinus (31), I. frontalis (18) and Haemaphysalis concinna (1). The average prevalence of tick infestation was 2.5% and the average tick burden was 1.2 ticks per host. The bird species Turdus merula, Parus major, Luscinia svecica and Anthus pratensis were among the most infested. Anaplasma phagocytophilum was detected from one Turdus merula. We have not detected B. burgdorferi s.l., Rickettsia spp., Coxiella burnetii or piroplasmids in any of the 51 analyzed ticks. The results of the study suggest low infestation rate in migratory/estuary birds and a higher rate in forest/sedentary ones. Despite this, the detection of pathogens, although with low prevalence, can pose a risk to public health.
... Francisella-like and Midichloria, rather than Rickettsia, are the endosymbionts frequently found in H. marginatum (Azagi et al., 2017;Buysse et al., 2021). The high rates of R. aeschlimannii infection in H. marginatum (Azagi et al., 2017;Wallménius et al., 2014) may be associated with this bacterium being an endosymbiont, although no vertical transmission has been reported for R. aeschlimannii in ticks (Nováková & Šmajs, 2018). On the other hand, natural populations of R. bursa have been more frequently associated with Coxiella-like than Francisella-like endosymbionts (Brinkmann et al., 2019;Papa et al., 2017;Raele et al., 2015). ...
Most tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) are secondarily acquired by ticks during feeding on infected hosts, which imposes ‘priority effect’ constraints, as arrival order influences the establishment of new species in a microbial community. Here we tested whether once acquired, TBPs contribute to bacterial microbiota functioning by increasing community stability. For this, we used Hyalomma marginatum and Rhipicephalus bursa ticks collected from cattle in different locations of Corsica and combined 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and co-occurrence network analysis, with high-throughput pathogen detection, and in silico removal of nodes to test for impact of rickettsial pathogens on network properties. Despite its low centrality, Rickettsia showed preferential connections in the networks, notably with a keystone taxon in H. marginatum, suggesting facilitation of Rickettsia colonisation by the keystone taxon. In addition, conserved patterns of community assembly in both tick species were affected by Rickettsia removal, suggesting that privileged connections of Rickettsia in the networks make this taxon a driver of community assembly. However, Rickettsia removal had minor impact on the conserved ‘core bacterial microbiota’ of H. marginatum and R. bursa. Interestingly, networks of the two tick species with Rickettsia have similar node centrality distribution, a property that is lost after Rickettsia removal, suggesting that this taxon drives specific hierarchical interactions between bacterial microbes in the microbiota. The study indicates that tick-borne Rickettsia play a significant role in the tick bacterial microbiota, despite their low centrality. These bacteria are influential and contribute to the conservation of the ‘core bacterial microbiota’ while also promoting community stability.
... Both species have been detected in patients with different types of clinical manifestations. In addition to these, sporadic findings of Rickettsia monacensis and Rickettsia sibirica have been reported in ticks in Sweden [25,26]. R. helvetica is common in the tick population (Ixodes ricinus) in 5-15% of ticks when examining materials from different parts of the country [27]. ...
Background
Rickettsia helvetica, a spotted fever rickettsia, is transmitted to humans via ticks in Europe, North Africa, and Asia. The central nervous system is a crucial target for rickettsial diseases, which has been reported for 12 of the 31 species, of which R. helvetica is one. This study aimed, in an experimental model, to identify characteristics of R. helvetica infection in a mouse neuronal cell line, NSC-34.
Results
NSC-34, a fusion cell line of mouse motor spinal cord neurons and neuroblastoma cells, was used as a model. Propagation of R. helvetica in neurons was confirmed. Short actin tails were shown at the polar end of the bacteria, which makes it likely that they can move intracellularly, and even spread between cells. Another protein, Sca4, which with the cell adhesion protein vinculin enables the passage of the cell membrane, was expressed during infection. No significant increase in TNFα levels was seen in the infected neurons, which is of interest because TNFα protects the host cell from infection-induced apoptotic death which is crucial for host cell survival. The bacteria were also shown to invade and grow in the cell nucleus of the neuron.
Conclusions
The findings suggest that a R. helvetica infection may be harmful to NSC-34 neurons under these in vitro conditions, but the full effects of the infection on the cell need to be studied further, also on human neurons, to also understand the possible significance of this infection in relation to pathogenetic mechanisms.
... tick that was positive for R. africae, the etiologic agent of African tick bite fever, known to be endemic in sub-Saharan Africa and the West Indies. Hyalomma ticks have been reported to carry R. africae (46), but no proof (25,47). We found that 1 A. variegatum tick from a patient in Guadeloupe carried R. africae. ...
Monitoring of tickborne diseases is critical for prevention and management. We analyzed 418 ticks removed from 359 patients during 2014–2021 in Marseille, France, for identification and bacteria detection. Using morphology, molecular methods, or matrix-assisted laser desorption/ ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry, we identi- fied 197 (47%) Ixodes, 136 (33%) Dermacentor, 67 (16%) Rhipicephalus, 8 (2%) Hyalomma, 6 (1%) Am- blyomma, 2 (0.5%) Argas, and 2 (0.5%) Haemaphy- salis tick species. We also detected bacterial DNA in 241 (58%) ticks. The most frequent bacterial pathogens were Rickettsia raoultii (17%) and R. slovaca (13%) in Dermacentor ticks, Borrelia spp. (9%) in Ixodes ticks, and R. massiliae (16%) in Rhipicephalus ticks. Among patients who were bitten, 107 had symptoms, and tick- borne diseases were diagnosed in 26, including scalp eschar and neck lymphadenopathy after tick bite and Lyme borrelioses. Rapid tick and bacteria identification using a combination of methods can substantially con- tribute to clinical diagnosis, treatment, and surveillance of tickborne diseases.
... Hard ticks (Ixodidae) are vectors of several pathogens, such as Rickettsia spp., Borrelia spp., and Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever virus (CCHFV) [50][51][52]. In Europe and the Mediterranean, most ticks found on avian species are immature stages from the genus Hyalomma, Ixodes ticks of all stages and, sporadically, immature stages from the genera Haemaphysalis and Rhipicephalus [52,53]. ...
... Hard ticks (Ixodidae) are vectors of several pathogens, such as Rickettsia spp., Borrelia spp., and Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever virus (CCHFV) [50][51][52]. In Europe and the Mediterranean, most ticks found on avian species are immature stages from the genus Hyalomma, Ixodes ticks of all stages and, sporadically, immature stages from the genera Haemaphysalis and Rhipicephalus [52,53]. However, to date, no information is available on the ticks infesting avian species in Corsica. ...
... This bird species is also the main host of the immature stages of I. frontalis ticks in Turkey [56]. However, E. rubecula is not the only passerine infested by Ixodes ticks, which target a wide spectrum of passerines, both sedentary and migratory [52,55,57,58]. On the other hand, the bird species with the highest infestation rate was Cettia cetti (2.66 ticks per bird), which is a ground-feeding sedentary bird in Corsica. ...
Birds are one of the most species-diverse vertebrate groups and are susceptible to numerous hematophagous ectoparasites. Migratory birds likely contribute to the circulation of these ectoparasites and their associated pathogens. One of the many migration paths crosses the Mediterranean islands including Corsica and its wetlands, which are migration stopovers. In our study, we collected blood samples and hematophagous ectoparasites in migratory and sedentary bird populations in two coastal lagoons: Biguglia and Gradugine. A total of 1377 birds were captured from which 762 blood samples, 37 louse flies, and 44 ticks were collected. All the louse flies were identified as Ornithomya biloba and all the ticks were from the Ixodes genus: Ixodes sp. (8.5%), I. accuminatus/ventalloi (2.9%), I. arboricola/lividus (14.3%), I. frontalis (5.7%) and I. ricinus (68.6%). Five pathogens were detected: Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Erhlichia chaffeensis, and Rickettsia helvetica in ticks, and Trypanosoma sp. in louse flies. Ehrlichia chaffeensis and the West Nile virus were both detected in bird blood samples in Corsica. This is the first report of these tick, louse fly and pathogen species isolated on the bird population in Corsica. Our finding highlights the importance of bird populations in the presence of arthropod-borne pathogens in Corsican wetlands.
... Our results are higher than those (10%-21.7%) found in I. frontalis feeding on birds from Greece and Italy (Diakou et al., 2016;Wallménius et al., 2014). Although Rickettsia DNA also has been detected in I. frontalis feeding on birds from other European countries such as Germany, no data is available to allow the calculation of a prevalence (Wimbauer et al., 2022). ...
... R. rioja in this tick. In addition, R. aeschlimannii, R. monacensis, R. helvetica and a not identified Rickettsia sp. were found in I. frontalis collected from wild birds in Greece, Italy and Germany(Diakou et al., 2016;Wallménius et al., 2014;Wimbauer et al., 2022). In addition, R. slovaca and Ca. ...
To identify the questing tick populations in urban and suburban areas from the city of Lugo (NW Spain), ticks were collected monthly by flagging. The presence of Borrelia spp., Rickettsia spp. and Anaplasma phagocytophilum also was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequence analysis. Overall, 342 questing ticks were collected; the tick abundance was higher in suburban (95.9%) than in urban areas (4.1%). Ixodes frontalis was the most abundant (86.5%); 88.5% were larvae, 11.1% nymphs and 0.3% adults. All development stages of I. ricinus (7.3%) and adults of Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (5.8%) and Dermacentor reticulatus (0.3%) were found. Rickettsia spp. (31.9%) was more prevalent than Borrelia spp. (2.7%); no ticks were positive to A. phagocytophilum. Six Rickettsia species were identified (R. slovaca, R. monacensis, R. massiliae, R. raoultii, R. sibirica subsp. mongolitimonae and R. aeschielmanii); Candidatus Rickettsia rioja and two novel Rickettsia species also were detected. In addition, Borrelia turdi (1.8%) and B. valaisiana (0.9%) were identified in Ixodes ticks. This is the first report of R. slovaca in R. sanguineus s.l. and of R. monacensis, R. raoultii, R. slovaca, R. sibirica subsp. mongolitimonae and Ca. R. rioja in I. frontalis. Since most of the pathogens detected are zoonotic, their presence in these areas may have implications for public health.
