title: Ticks need not bite their red grouse hosts to infect them with louping ill virus.
abstract: For pathogens transmitted by biting vectors, one of the fundamental assumptions is often that vector bites are the sole or main route of host infection. Here, we demonstrate experimentally a transmission route whereby hosts (red grouse, Lagopus lagopus scoticus) became infected with a member of the tick-borne encephalitis virus complex, louping ill virus, after eating the infected tick vector. Furthermore, we estimated from field observations that this mode of infection could account for 73-98% of all virus infections in wild red grouse in their first season. This has potential implications for the understanding of other biting vector-borne pathogens where hosts may ingest vectors through foraging or grooming.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK. lg18@st-andrews.ac.uk
authors.forename: Lucy
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gilbert
authors.forename: Linda D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: M Karen
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Laurenson
authors.forename: Ernie A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Gould
authors.forename: Hugh W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Reid
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Hudson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000635:transmission* / Q000821:virology*; D001717:Birds; D004435:Eating; D004669:Encephalitis Viruses, Tick-Borne; D004675:Encephalitis, Tick-Borne / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D005243:Feces / Q000821:virology; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000821:virology*; D018884:Ixodes / Q000821:virology*; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies