TY - JOUR AU - Comstedt, Pär AU - Bergström, Sven AU - Olsen, Björn AU - Garpmo, Ulf AU - Marjavaara, Lisette AU - Mejlon, Hans AU - Barbour, Alan AU - Bunikis, Jonas T1 - Migratory Passerine Birds as Reservoirs of Lyme Borreliosis in Europe T2 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal PY - 2006 VL - 12 IS - 7 SP - 1087 SN - 1080-6059 AB - To define the role of birds as reservoirs and disseminators of Borrelia spirochetes, we characterized tick infestation and reservoir competence of migratory passerine birds in Sweden. A total of 1,120 immature Ixodes ricinus ticks were removed from 13,260 birds and assayed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for Borrelia, followed by DNA sequencing for species and genotype identification. Distributions of ticks on birds were aggregated, presumably because of varying encounters with ticks along migratory routes. Lyme borreliosis spirochetes were detected in 160 (14%) ticks. Borrelia garinii was the most common species in PCR-positive samples and included genotypes associated with human infections. Infestation prevalence with infected ticks was 5 times greater among ground-foraging birds than other bird species, but the 2 groups were equally competent in transmitting Borrelia. Migratory passerine birds host epidemiologically important vector ticks and Borrelia species and vary in effectiveness as reservoirs on the basis of their feeding behavior. KW - Spirochaetales KW - Borrelia KW - transmission KW - infection KW - competence KW - tick KW - infestation KW - Lyme disease KW - zoonosis KW - Sweden KW - research DO - 10.3201/eid1207.060127 UR - https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/12/7/06-0127_article ER - End of Reference