Spotted fever group rickettsiae in ticks of migratory birds in Romania. Issue 1 (December 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Mărcuţan, Ioan-Daniel; Kalmár, Zsuzsa; Ionică, Angela; D'Amico, Gianluca; Mihalca, Andrei; Vasile, Cozma; Sándor, Attila
• Is Part Of: Parasites & vectors. Volume 9:Issue 1(2016)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 7
• Publication Date: 2016-12
• Subjects: Migratory birds -- Ticks -- Rickettsiae -- Eastern Europe; Parasitism -- Periodicals; Parasites -- Periodicals; Vector-pathogen relationships -- Periodicals; Animals as carriers of disease -- Periodicals; Insects as carriers of disease -- Periodicals; 616.96
• DOI: 10.1186/s13071-016-1565-7
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1756-3305

Abstract

Abstract Background Birds are important hosts and dispersers of parasitic arthropods and vector-borne zoonotic pathogens. Particularly migratory species may carry these parasites over long distances in short time periods. Migratory hotspots present ideal conditions to get a snapshot of parasite and pathogen diversity of birds migrating between continents. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence and diversity ofRickettsia spp. in ticks collected from birds at a migratory hot-spot in the Danube Delta, Romania, eastern Europe. Methods DNA was extracted from ticks that were collected from migratory birds in the Danube Delta during migratory seasons in 2011–2012. Two 360 bp fragments of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene and a 381 bp fragment Gene gltA were PCR amplified and analyzed by sequence analysis (performed at Macrogen Europe, Amsterdam, The Netherlands). Nucleotide sequences were compared to reference sequences available in the GenBank database, using Basic Local Alignment Search Tool. Results Four hundred ticks of four different species were found on 11 bird species. The prevalence ofRickettsia spp. infection was 14 % (56/400, CI: 11.7–29.1), with significantly more nymphs hosting rickettsial infection compared to larvae (48vs 7;P < 0.001). Significantly more ticks in nymphal stage were hostingRickettsia spp. infection in spring, than in autumn. Four different genospecies were found:R. monacensis (29 ticks), R. helvetica (13), R. massiliae (3) andR. slovaca (2). The seasonal distribution of differentRickettsia spp. was heterogeneous; with most of theR. monacensis- infected ticks were found in spring, while moreR. helvetica were found in autumn than spring.R. massiliae was found only in autumn andR. slovaca was found only in spring. Conclusion This study has shown that birds migrating through eastern Europe may carry ticks infected with a high diversity of rickettsial pathogens, with fourRickettsia spp. recorded. Migratory direction was important for pathogen burden, with seasonal differences in the occurrence of individualRickettsia species. Here we report the first individual records of differentRickettsia spp. inH. concinna (R. monacensis ), I. arboricola (R. helvetica, R. massiliae ) andI. redikorzevi (R. helvetica ) and also the first geographical record of occurrence of R.massiliae in Romania, representing the easternmost observation on the continent.