Publications

do ticks and borrelia burgdorferi s.l. constitute a burden to birds?	ticks consume resources from their hosts shaping their life-history traits and are vectors of many zoonotic pathogens. several studies have focused on the health effects of blood-sucking ectoparasites on avian hosts, but there is limited information on the effects of ticks on adult and sub-adult birds, which may actively avoid ticks and are likely to present low infestation intensities. we evaluated the effects of the presence of feeding ticks and intensity of infestation on health variables of ...	2013	23430359
synanthropic birds associated with high prevalence of tick-borne rickettsiae and with the first detection of rickettsia aeschlimannii in hungary.	the aim of this study was to analyze synanthropic birds as risk factors for introducing ticks and tick-borne pathogens into human settlements, with an emphasis on rickettsiae. altogether 184 subadult ticks were found on 5846 birds. tick infestation was most prevalent during the spring. in this sample group the majority of ticks were molecularly identified as ixodes ricinus, and three individuals collected from the european robin as hyalomma marginatum marginatum. the latter is the first molecula ...	2013	23289394
which forest bird species are the main hosts of the tick, ixodes ricinus, the vector of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, during the breeding season?	wild birds are important hosts for vector-borne pathogens, especially those borne by ticks. however, few studies have been conducted on the role of different bird species within a community as hosts of vector-borne pathogens. this study addressed individual and species factors that could explain the burden of ixodes ricinus on forest birds during the reproductive periods of both vectors and hosts. the goal was to identify which bird species contribute the most to the tick population at the commu ...	2012	22732161
the importance of ixodes arboricola in transmission of rickettsia spp., anaplasma phagocytophilum, and borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in the czech republic, central europe.	abstract wild birds are known to be a reservoir of infectious disease agents and disseminatory hosts of ticks. the purpose of this work was to obtain information about the occurrence of rickettsial, anaplasmal, and borrelial infections in some ticks that parasitize wild birds in the czech republic. a total of 549 subadult ticks of three species ixodes arboricola (75.0%), ixodes ricinus (23.1%), and haemaphysalis concinna (1.8%) were collected from 20 species of birds (passeriformes). rickettsiae ...	2011	21612531
ticks (ixodidae) from passerine birds in the carpathian region.	birds have been found to be a reservoir host of borrelia. in order to assess the situation in slovakia ticks were collected from a total of 3057 mist-netted, ringed and released passerine birds in two locations at 500 m (in 2001) and 1000 m (in 2003) above sea level in the bukovské vrchy hills, part of the carpathian region in the north-east of slovakia. a total of 75 birds of 16 species were infested with subadult ticks of ixodes ricinus species (prevalence of parasitization 5%). sixty-two larv ...	2006	17186172
prevalence of borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in the nightingale (luscinia megarhynchos) and other passerine birds.	in order to explore the involvement of terrestrial birds in the ecology of lyme disease spirochetes, we determined the presence of borrelia burgdorferi s. i. dna in tick larvae feeding on the hosts. birds were caught at several study sites along the rhine valley in sw germany between august 1999 and march 2001. a total of 987 ixodes ricinus larvae were collected from 225 birds belonging to 20 host species. the following four passerine species that have not yet been subject to detailed reservoir ...	2002	12141765
ixodes ricinus immatures on birds in a focus of lyme borreliosis.	the infestation of birds by immature ixodes ricinus was studied during 6 months in a swiss woodland, where lyme borreliosis is endemic. thirteen passerine species were found to be parasitized by i. ricinus subadults and specially turdus merula, t. philomelos and erithacus rubecula. overall, 300 larvae and 162 nymphs were collected on 95 avian hosts. prevalence of infestation of nymphs on birds was higher in spring; larvae peaked in summer. the infection of birds by borrelia burgdorferi was also ...	1993	8314179