title: Urban Breeding Corvids as Disseminators of Ticks and Emerging Tick-Borne Pathogens.
abstract: Crows (Corvidae) are common city dwellers worldwide and are increasingly important subjects of epidemiology studies. Although their importance as hosts and transmitters of a number of zoonotic parasites and pathogens is well known, there are no studies on their importance as tick hosts. After mosquitoes, ticks are the most important vectors of zoonotic pathogens, especially for those causing emerging zoonotic diseases. Pathogenic bacteria, especially Borrelia spp., Rickettsia spp., and Anaplasma spp., vectored by ticks, are the cause for most vector-borne diseases in Europe. Here we report on ticks and tick-borne pathogens harbored by urban breeding crows. A total of 36 birds (33.33%, n = 108) hosted ticks, with 91 individual ticks belonging to 6 species (Haemaphysalis concinna, Haemaphysalis parva, Haemaphysalis punctata, Hyalomma marginatum, Ixodes arboricola, and Ixodes ricinus). Rickettsia spp. DNA was found in 6.6% of ticks and 1.9% of bird tissues, whereas Anaplasma phagocytophilum was found in 5.9% of ticks and 0.9% of birds. Two rickettsial genospecies were located, Rickettsia helvetica and Rickettsia monacensis. This is the first study to determine such a diverse tick spectrum feeding on urban corvids, while highlighting their importance as tick hosts and raising concerns about their potential risk to human health.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine , Cluj Napoca, Cluj, Romania .
authors.forename: Attila D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Sándor
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine , Cluj Napoca, Cluj, Romania .
authors.forename: Zsuzsa
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kalmár
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine , Cluj Napoca, Cluj, Romania .
authors.forename: Ioana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Matei
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine , Cluj Napoca, Cluj, Romania .
authors.forename: Angela Monica
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ionică
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine , Cluj Napoca, Cluj, Romania .
authors.forename: Ioan-Daniel
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: Mărcuţan
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000818:Animals; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D002947:Cities; D046368:Crows; D006801:Humans; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D017282:Tick-Borne Diseases / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D013987:Ticks / Q000382:microbiology*; D015047:Zoonoses
keywords: Anaplasma; Corvidae; Rickettsia; tick; urban