Guest guest Posted March 31, 2010 Report Share Posted March 31, 2010 Do birds not carry deer ticks? Wondering how TBDs are spreading throughout Canada from U.S. Is it migrating birds & animals carrying infected ticks? [ ] Re: Ticks > > From what I understood from a study (recent, I think), Bb etc can be passed prenatally on to the tick's BABIES, regardless of the host. I agree, understanding why some species do not suffer from these diseases could be valuable. yes, but this is relatively rare form of transmission. most ticks get infected in the larval/nymph stage, when feeding on small animals that carry the Bb. Because there is some transmission through the eggs, even killing the complete tick host population would not work to permanently eradicate Bb. > It's been reported migrating birds carry them as well, which makes sense. yes, but those are mostly ticks that feed on different hosts. However, because there is some host overlap, especially in coastal areas, and this spreads the Borrelia between tick species. > (I do think there are too many deer in any case, it's been reported there's more now than ever; between preservation efforts and the number of hunters declining, their population has surged in the US. If the deer numbers are far too high something should be done yes. In Netherlands we have the constant discussion about introducing wolves in the few small national parks; this discussion started 30 years ago but there is no progress, will probably never happen. There are no natural predators, so the ecology does not work. Hunting is not a good solution in the long run IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 1, 2010 Report Share Posted April 1, 2010 > > > Do birds not carry deer ticks? Wondering how TBDs are spreading throughout Canada from U.S. Is it migrating birds & animals carrying infected ticks? no, birds usually carry other tick species. However, the bird ticks sometimes target other hosts like small rodents, and that is how they spread Borrelia and its coinfectinos. So: the birds spread the infection, not the ticks themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 2, 2010 Report Share Posted April 2, 2010 Hi there - there's an interesting article about the role of birds in spreading Lyme disease - a little snippet is below: Two important features of the epidemiology of Lyme disease in the U.S. have been the continuous geographic spread of the tick vector and temporal increase in reported cases within endemic areas over the past two decades. For example, tick surveillance around Long Island, NY and Connecticut from 1977 through 1989 indicated that the range of I. scapularis expanded annually into areas over 380 km away from the original endemic areas. This coincided with an increased incidence of disease reported within previously known endemic counties.29 Surveys of ectoparasites of birds reveal that ticks commonly infest a wide range of species, especially thrushes, sparrows and other ground foraging birds.30–34 Ticks are usually found attached to the thin skin around the eyes and ears, and on the head – areas that are difficult for the bird to preen (figure 3A). Tick infestation of some birds can be substantial (figure 3B). Figure 3A Engorged Black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis), the vector of Lyme disease, attached to the skin just below the eye of a Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis). Ticks attach most frequently to ground-for-aging species of birds and tend to concentrate around the ears and eyes, two areas that are difficult for the bird to preen. Figure 3B Multiple engorged ticks removed from a single bird. Although a wide range of tick species have been reported to parasitize wild birds, Ixodes spp. are the most likely to carry B. burgdorferi. Other species of ticks, such as rabbit ticks (Haemaphysalis leporispalustris) occasionally test positive for B. burgdorferi, but the significance of these findings is uncertain.30 Ixodid ticks often attach to hosts for 24 to 48 hours while acquiring a blood meal. During migration, this is sufficient time for some birds to travel hundreds or even a few thousand miles before ticks complete feeding and drop off. An example of the capacity for wild birds to carry spirochete-infected ticks long distances is a molecular epidemiologic study which provided evidence of transhemispheric exchange of spirochete-infected ticks by seabirds from colonies in both the southern and northern hemispheres.35 Overall, dispersal of B. burgdorferi-infected ticks along migration routes is considered to be an important mechanism for the establishment of new endemic foci of disease.30,32,36 Another important area of investigation has been attempts to determine whether or not birds might serve as reservoir hosts for B. burgdorferi. Spirochetes have been isolated from the blood of numerous bird species.32,33,36–39. However, not all of them seem to be capable of transmitting the infection to tick vectors.40 Although wild birds may play a significant role in maintaining enzootic cycles of infection in restricted geographic areas, for most endemic areas rodents are considered more important amplifying hosts in nature. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1069015/ > > > > From what I understood from a study (recent, I think), Bb etc can be passed prenatally on to the tick's BABIES, regardless of the host. I agree, understanding why some species do not suffer from these diseases could be valuable. > > yes, but this is relatively rare form of transmission. > most ticks get infected in the larval/nymph stage, when feeding on small animals that carry the Bb. Because there is some transmission through the eggs, even killing the complete tick host population would not work to permanently eradicate Bb. > > > It's been reported migrating birds carry them as well, which makes sense. > > yes, but those are mostly ticks that feed on different hosts. However, because there is some host overlap, especially in coastal areas, and this spreads the Borrelia between tick species. > > > (I do think there are too many deer in any case, it's been reported there's more now than ever; between preservation efforts and the number of hunters declining, their population has surged in the US. > > If the deer numbers are far too high something should be done yes. In Netherlands we have the constant discussion about introducing wolves in the few small national parks; this discussion started 30 years ago but there is no progress, will probably never happen. There are no natural predators, so the ecology does not work. Hunting is not a good solution in the long run IMHO. > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 3, 2010 Report Share Posted April 3, 2010 > An example of the capacity for wild birds to carry spirochete-infected ticks long distances is a molecular epidemiologic study which provided evidence of transhemispheric exchange of spirochete-infected ticks by seabirds from colonies in both the southern and northern hemispheres.35 Overall, dispersal of B. burgdorferi-infected ticks along migration routes is considered to be an important mechanism for the establishment of new endemic foci of disease. yes, I have seen several studies about this. Rodents are the main reservoir for Bb, but birds seem to be important for spreading the disease over longer distances (and possibly other vectors as well, many insects like mosquitos als have significant Bb infection). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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