title: Ticks on passerines from the Archipelago of the Azores as hosts of borreliae and rickettsiae.
abstract: We examined the presence of borreliae and rickettsiae bacteria in ticks from wild passerine birds on three islands of the Archipelago of the Azores, the westernmost region of Palearctic. A total of 266 birds belonging to eight species from seven families were examined on São Miguel, Santa Maria and Graciosa islands in 2013. Ticks collected from these birds consisted of 55 Ixodes frontalis (22 larvae, 32 nymphs, 1 adult female) and 16 Haemaphysalis punctata nymphs. Turdus merula and Erithacus rubecula were the birds most infested with both tick species. Three T. merula in Santa Maria were infested with 4 I. frontalis infected with Borrelia turdi. No rickettsiae were found in the ticks. We report for the first time the presence of I. frontalis and B. turdi on the Azores islands and we showed that the spatial distribution reaches further west than previously thought.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Wildlife Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic; CEITEC VFU, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic. Electronic address: literaki@vfu.cz.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Literak
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, Institute of Marine Research IMAR/CMA, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal; Center for Vector and Infectious Diseases Research, National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge, Águas de Moura, Portugal. Electronic address: acgnorte@ci.uc.pt.
authors.forename: Ana Claudia
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Norte
authors.affiliation: Center for Vector and Infectious Diseases Research, National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge, Águas de Moura, Portugal. Electronic address: sofia.nuncio@insa.min-saude.pt.
authors.forename: Maria Sofia
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Núncio
authors.affiliation: Center for Vector and Infectious Diseases Research, National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge, Águas de Moura, Portugal; Emergency Response and Biopreparedness Unit, National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge, Lisboa, Portugal. Electronic address: isabel.carvalho@insa.min-saude.pt.
authors.forename: Isabel Lopes
authors.initials: IL
authors.lastname: de Carvalho
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Hantaviroses e Rickettsioses, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz/IOC, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz - FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Electronic address: maria.ogrzewalska@ioc.fiocruz.br.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ogrzewalska
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Wildlife Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic; CEITEC VFU, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic. Electronic address: novakovamar@vfu.cz.
authors.forename: Markéta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nováková
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva e Saúde Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. Electronic address: thiagodogo@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Thiago F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Wildlife Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic. Electronic address: sychrao@vfu.cz.
authors.forename: Oldrich
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Sychra
authors.affiliation: CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Polo dos Açores, Universidade dos Açores, Ponta Delgada, Portugal. Electronic address: rresendes@uac.pt.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Resendes
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Patología Animal, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valvidia, Chile. Electronic address: pedroreisrodrigues@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rodrígues
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001394:Azores; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D001898:Borrelia / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007814:Larva; D009758:Nymph; D046109:Passeriformes; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D013987:Ticks / Q000382:microbiology*
keywords: Azores; Birds; Borrelia turdi; Haemaphysalis punctata; Ixodes frontalis; Ticks