ArticleParasites & vectors2017
Pathogen communities of songbird-derived ticks in Europe's low countries.
Article in Parasites & vectors, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 74 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Lyme beyond the season: late-autumn dissemination of infected ticks by southward migrating redwings (Turdus iliacus).Parasites & vectors · 2026Article
- Bird-Borrelia Interactions: A Historical Review and Their Significance for Human Disease Ecology.Microorganisms · 2026Review
- Surveillance of tick-borne pathogens in ticks collected from Swiss residents.Parasites & vectors · 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
- Prevalence ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Identification ofLife (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi (s.l.) in Ixodes ricinus ticks collected in Iceland.Parasites & vectors · 2025Article
- Detection of tick-borne pathogens in blood-fed ticks from animals across nine Asian countries.Microbiology spectrum · 2025Article
- Genetic and genomic variability ofISME communications · 2025Article
- Presence of Borrelia Spirochetes in White Stork (Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Article
- The prevalence of pathogens in ticks collected from humans in Belgium, 2021, versus 2017.Parasites & vectors · 2024Article
- Article
- East-to-west dispersal of bird-associated ixodid ticks in the northern Palaearctic: Review of already reported tick species according to longitudinal migratory avian hosts and first evidence on the genetic connectedness ofCurrent research in parasitology & vector-borne diseases · 2024Article
- Temporal dynamics of theCurrent research in parasitology & vector-borne diseases · 2024Article
- The contribution ofParasitology · 2023Review
- Genetic Diversity ofLife (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Detection of Pathogens and Ticks on Sedentary and Migratory Birds in Two Corsican Wetlands (France, Mediterranean Area).Microorganisms · 2023Article
- Review
- Survey of Tick-Borne Zoonotic Agents inTransboundary and emerging diseases · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBirds play a major role in the maintenance of enzootic cycles of pathogens transmitted by ticks. Due to their mobility, they affect the spatial distribution and abundance of both ticks and pathogens. In the present study, we aim to identify members of a pathogen community [Borrelia burgdorferi (s.l.), B. miyamotoi, 'Ca. Neoehrlichia mikurensis', Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Rickettsia helvetica] in songbird-derived ticks from 11 locations in the Netherlands and Belgium (2012-2014).
resultsOverall, 375 infested songbird individuals were captured, belonging to 35 species. Thrushes (Turdus iliacus, T. merula and T. philomelos) were trapped most often and had the highest mean infestation intensity for both Ixodes ricinus and I. frontalis. Of the 671 bird-derived ticks, 51% contained DNA of at least one pathogenic agent and 13% showed co-infections with two or more pathogens. Borrelia burgdorferi (s.l.) DNA was found in 34% of the ticks of which majority belong to so-called avian Borrelia species (distribution in Borrelia-infected ticks: 47% B. garinii, 34% B. valaisiana, 3% B. turdi), but also the mammal-associated B. afzelii (16%) was detected. The occurrence of B. miyamotoi was low (1%). Prevalence of R. helvetica in ticks was high (22%), while A. phagocytophilum and 'Ca. N. mikurensis' prevalences were 5% and 4%, respectively. The occurrence of B. burgdorferi (s.l.) was positively correlated with the occurrence of 'Ca. N. mikurensis', reflecting variation in susceptibility among birds and/or suggesting transmission facilitation due to interactions between pathogens.
conclusionsOur findings highlight the contribution of European songbirds to co-infections in tick individuals and consequently to the exposure of humans to multiple pathogens during a tick bite. Although poorly studied, exposure to and possibly also infection with multiple tick-borne pathogens in humans seems to be the rule rather than the exception.
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