Abstract
Songbirds widely disperse ticks that carry a diversity of pathogens, some of which are pathogenic to humans. Among ticks commonly removed from songbirds, the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, can harbor any combination of nine zoonotic pathogens, including Babesia species. From May through September 2019, a total 157 ticks were collected from 93 songbirds of 29 species in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Québec. PCR testing for the 18S gene of Babesia species detected Babesia odocoilei in 12.63% of I. scapularis nymphs parasitizing songbirds in Ontario and Québec; none of the relatively small numbers of Ixodes muris, Ixodes brunneus, or Haemaphysalis leporispalustris were PCR-positive. For ticks at each site, the prevalence of B. odocoilei was 16.67% in Ontario and 8.89% and 5.26% in Québec. Of 31 live, engorged I. scapularis larvae and nymphs held to molt, 25 ticks completed the molt; five of these molted ticks were positive for B. odocoilei. PCR-positive ticks were collected from six bird species—namely, Common Yellowthroat, Swainson’s Thrush, Veery, House Wren, Baltimore Oriole, and American Robin. Phylogenetic analysis documented the close relationship of B. odocoilei to Babesia canis canis and Babesia divergens, the latter a known pathogen to humans. For the first time in Canada, we confirm the transstadial passage of B. odocoilei in I. scapularis molting from larvae to nymphs. A novel host record reveals I. scapularis on a Palm Warbler. Our findings show that B. odocoilei is present in all mobile life stages of I. scapularis, and it is widely dispersed by songbirds in Ontario and Québec.
Highlights
Ticks carry a wide spectrum of disease-causing microorganisms that cycle between vectors and hosts, including humans
I. muris and three I. scapularis), eight I. scapularis molted from nymph to adult female, seven I. scapularis molted from nymph to adult male, and one female I. muris laid a clutch of eggs, which hatched to larvae
Songbirds play a role in the wide dispersal of B. odocoilei-infected blacklegged ticks
Summary
Ticks carry a wide spectrum of disease-causing microorganisms that cycle between vectors and hosts, including humans. Some of these ectoparasites are laden with tick-borne zoonotic pathogens, including Babesia spp. These malaria-like piroplasms, which invade red blood cells, were first discovered by the Romanian researcher Victor Babes in. Ticks were identified as vectors shortly after the discovery of the pathogen [5], more recently, this apicomplexan microorganism has been found to be transmitted to humans by blood transfusion [6,7], by organ transplantation [8], and by maternal–fetal transmission [9,10].
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