Vol. 76 (3) 2024

ARTICLES

Borrelia burgdorferi Infection in Bird-feeding and Questing Ticks in Bulgaria

Nadya Ivanova-Aleksandrova*1, Iva Trifonova1, Elitsa Panayotova1, Dimitar Dimitrov2, Martin P. Marinov2, Teodora Gladnishka1, Evgenia Taseva1, Vladislava Ivanova1, Maya Zhelyazkova3, Galin Kamenov1, Pavel Zehtindjiev2 & Iva Christova1

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1*National Centre of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, 26 Yanko Sakazov Blvd., 1504 Sofia, Bulgaria; n.mitkova@ncipd.org
2Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2 Gagarin Street, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
3Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, 5 James Bourchier Blvd., 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria

https://doi.org/10.71424/azb76.3.002760

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Abstract
The presence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (the agent of Lyme disease) in Ixodes ricinus ticks removed from wild birds and questing ticks was investigated. A total of 345 ticks from 75 infested birds belonging to 10 species and 274 questing ticks collected from the surrounding vegetation were examined by PCR for Borrelia burgdorferi s. l. Pathogen DNA was found in 8.1% (28/345) of the bird-feeding ticks – 10.9% (11/101) in larvae and 7.0% (17/244) in nymphs. Prevalence of infection was 9.4% in ticks from the Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula), 4.0% in ticks from the Song thrush (T. philomelos) and 16.6% from the European robin (Erithacus rubecula). Detection of infected larvae (13.3%) collected from the Eurasian blackbird suggests that this species might contribute to the transmission to the vector I. ricinus. The overall prevalence of B. burgdorferi in the questing nymphs was 10.6%. This is the first report of B. burgdorferi s. l. infection in I. ricinus from wild birds in Bulgaria.

Key words
Lyme disease, Ixodes ricinus, Turdus merula

How to Cite
Ivanova-Aleksandrova N., Trifonova I., Panayotova E., Dimitrov D., Marinov M.P., Gladnishka T., Taseva E., Ivanova V., Zhelyazkova M., Kamenov G., Zehtindjiev P. & Christova I. 2024. Borrelia burgdorferi Infection in Bird-feeding and Questing Ticks in Bulgaria. Acta zoologica bulgarica 76 (3) 425-430.

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