ArticleExperimental & applied acarology2016
Long-term study of the prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. infection in ticks (Ixodes ricinus) feeding on blackbirds (Turdus merula) in NE Poland.
Article in Experimental & applied acarology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed.
- Turning urban wildlife mortality into a surveillance tool: Detection of vector-borne pathogens in carcasses of hedgehogs, squirrels, and blackbirds.One health (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2026Article
- Identification and mapping of potential and highly likely vectors for selected vector-borne diseases in the EU and neighbouring countries.EFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority · 2026Article
- The Occurrence ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Assessment of occupational exposure of soldiers to Lyme disease and Borrelia miyamotoi disease in selected military training areas from northern Poland.Experimental & applied acarology · 2024Article
- Wide spectrum of tick-borne pathogens in juvenile Ixodes ricinus collected from autumn-migrating birds in the Vistula River Valley, Poland.BMC veterinary research · 2024Article
- Pathogens detected in ticks (Ixodes ricinus) feeding on red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) from city parks in Warsaw.Experimental & applied acarology · 2024Article
- Toxoplasma gondii infection in ticks infesting migratory birds: the blackbird (Turdus merula) and the song thrush (Turdus philomelos).Experimental & applied acarology · 2024Article
- Genetic Diversity ofLife (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Tick Infestation in Migratory Birds of the Vistula River Valley, Poland.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Red Foxes (Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) associated with birds in Europe: Review of literature data.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2022Article
- Long-term study of Borrelia and Babesia prevalence and co-infection in Ixodes ricinus and Dermacentor recticulatus ticks removed from humans in Poland, 2016-2019.Parasites & vectors · 2021Article
- Migratory birds as disseminators of ticks and the tick-borne pathogens Borrelia bacteria and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus: a seasonal study at Ottenby Bird Observatory in South-eastern Sweden.Parasites & vectors · 2020Article
- The Potential Role of Migratory Birds in the Rapid Spread of Ticks and Tick-Borne Pathogens in the Changing Climatic and Environmental Conditions in Europe.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Review
- Ticks (Acari: Ixodida) on birds (Aves) migrating through the Polish Baltic coast.Experimental & applied acarology · 2019Article
- Urban rodent reservoirs of Borrelia spp. in Warsaw, Poland.Epidemiology and infection · 2018Article
- Tick-borne pathogens in ticks collected from birds in Taiwan.Parasites & vectors · 2017Article
- Ticks and the city - are there any differences between city parks and natural forests in terms of tick abundance and prevalence of spirochaetes?Parasites & vectors · 2017Article
- When a patient suspected with juvenile idiopathic arthritis turns out to be diagnosed with an infectious disease - a review of Lyme arthritis in children.Pediatric rheumatology online journal · 2017Review
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2 authors.
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Abstract
Seeking evidence to confirm that blackbirds (Turdus merula) may be involved in environmental maintenance of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. (the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis), we conducted a long-term study over three separate 2-year periods, together embracing a span of almost 20 years, all in the same area in northeastern Poland. We examined a total of 78 blackbirds and collected 623 Ixodes ricinus ticks feeding on them. The tick infestation prevalence was found to be very high (89.7 %). Among all ticks collected, 9.8 % individuals were infected with B. burgdorferi s.l. spirochetes. We found statistically significant growth in the prevalence of infected ticks as well as an increasing proportion of blackbirds hosting them in subsequent years of study. Ticks feeding on blackbirds were infected mainly with B. garinii (45.7 %), a genospecies commonly encountered in birds, and with B. afzelii (28.6 %), until recently considered rodent-associated. We also identified B. turdi (22.9 %), frequently found in recent years in ticks feeding on birds, and B. spielmanii (2.8 %), which had previously not been found in infected ticks feeding on blackbirds. We also found that ticks infected with genospecies associated with avian reservoir groups (B. garinii and B. turdi) were not randomly distributed on blackbirds, but instead focused on certain bird specimens. We therefore conjecture that this is a result of ticks becoming infected either from the host blackbird itself, or from other infected ticks feeding on the same host blackbird. We did not find any similar dependency for the rodent specialist B. afzelii.
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