An avian contribution to the presence of Ixodes pacificus (Acari: Ixodidae) and Borrelia burgdorferi on the Sutter Buttes of California

Journal of Medical Entomology
Stan A WrightSheryl A Yamamoto

Abstract

Birds from 45 species were sampled during three spring seasons from an isolated canyon on the Sutter Buttes in California for the presence of subadult stages of Ixodes pacificus Cooley & Kohls, and for infection with Borrelia burgdorferi Johnson, Schmid, Hyde, Steigerwalt & Brenner. These birds were found to have an infestation prevalence of 45%, a density of 1.7 ticks per bird, and an intensity of 3.8 ticks per infested bird. There was a significant difference in the I. pacificus infestations between canopy and ground-dwelling birds. Birds also demonstrated an overall infection with B. burgdorferi of 6.4% with significant difference between bird species. Amplification and subsequent sequencing of the 23s-5s rRNA intergenic spacer region of the Borrelia genome from one bird, a hermit thrush, Catharus guttatus (Nuttall), showed that the infection in this bird was caused by B. burgdorferi sensu stricto; the first such finding in a bird from the far west. Our results suggest that birds play a role in the distribution and maintenance of I. pacificus, and possibly of B. burgdoferi, at the Sutter Buttes, CA.

References

Nov 1, 1992·Journal of Medical Entomology·C A OlsonC Levy
May 1, 1991·Journal of Medical Entomology·R S Lane, R N Brown
Nov 1, 1990·Journal of Medical Entomology·S A ManweilerM L Morrison
Sep 1, 1985·The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene·W BurgdorferJ R Anderson
Sep 1, 1995·The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene·J R Clover, R S Lane
Jan 1, 1996·The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene·R N Brown, R S Lane
Jul 1, 1997·Journal of Medical Entomology·D E KainR S Lane
Aug 17, 1999·Journal of Clinical Microbiology·D PosticG Baranton
Feb 29, 2000·Nature·A GylfeB Olsen
Apr 11, 2000·Emerging Infectious Diseases·D RichterF R Matuschka
Jul 31, 2001·Journal of Medical Entomology·J D ScottM G Morshed
Jul 27, 2002·International Journal of Medical Microbiology : IJMM·Andreas KaiserOlaf Strub
Dec 12, 2002·Experimental & Applied Acarology·Leslie CasherLars Eisen
Jan 23, 2003·Experimental & Applied Acarology·Lance A DurdenGregory N Vogel
Jun 3, 2005·Clinical Medicine & Research·Kurt D ReedSanjay K Shukla

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Anemia

Anemia develops when your blood lacks enough healthy red blood cells. Anemia of inflammation (AI, also called anemia of chronic disease) is a common, typically normocytic, normochromic anemia that is caused by an underlying inflammatory disease. Here is the latest research on anemia.