Tick species from Africa by migratory birds: a 3-year study in Italy
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Tick species from Africa by migratory birds: a 3‑year study in Italy L. Toma1 · E. Mancuso2 · S. G. d’Alessio2 · M. Menegon1 · F. Spina3 · I. Pascucci2,4 · F. Monaco2 · M. Goffredo2 · M. Di Luca1 Received: 28 May 2020 / Accepted: 11 November 2020 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Abstract The role of resident or migratory birds in dispersal of tick species and tick-borne pathogens is still poorly known in Italy. We report here the results of a 3-year project based on sampling ticks from migratory birds, as well as from the vegetation at three stop-over sites for migrants, namely the islands of Ventotene (Latium), Asinara (Sardinia) and Ustica (Sicily). During the spring seasons from 2017–2019, in total 2681 ticks were collected, 2344 of which were sampled from migratory birds and 337 from the vegetation. Ticks were identified by morphology or by molecular tools when necessary. In total, 16 tick species were identified among which the following were exclusively found on birds: Hyalomma rufipes (43.3%), Hy. truncatum (0.1%), Ixodes frontalis (11.8%), Ix. inopinatus (0.2%), Ix. ricinus (3%), Haemaphysalis punctata (0.08%), Hae. erinacei (0.1%), Amblyomma variegatum (0.08%) and Argas vulgaris 0.1%), whereas five species were exclusively collected from the vegetation: Rhipicephalus bursa (10.5%), Rh. turanicus (5.9%), Rh. sanguineus sensu lato (2%), Rh. pusillus (2.4%), Hae. sulcata (0.08%). Hy. marginatum (10.3%) and Ix. ventalloi (9.3%) were found both on birds and on the vegetation on the island Ustica. It is worth noting that the search for ticks on the vegetation did not detect allochthonous tick species. Although we found several interesting local species and allochthonous ticks like Hy. rufipes, Am. variegatum and Ar. vulgaris on birds, further investigations are needed to better define the possible role of migratory birds in the introduction of ticks and tick-borne diseases in Italy, above all after the evidence of imported ticks positive to Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus in several European countries. Keywords Ticks · Migratory birds · Italy
* L. Toma [email protected] 1
Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
2
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise ‘G. Caporale’, Campo Boario, 64100 Teramo, Italy
3
Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale, Bird Migration Research Area, Via Ca’ Fornacetta 9, Ozzano dell’ Emilia, Bologna, Italy
4
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Umbria e delle Marche “T. Rosati” Sezione Di Pesaro, Via Canonici 140, 61122 Villa Fastiggi, Pesaro, Italy
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Experimental and Applied Acarology
Introduction Ticks are known to be competent vectors of viral, bacterial, and protozoan agents responsible for emerging diseases worldwide. The increase of human mobility, along with global warming, represents a key factor for the introduction and spread of vector-borne diseases in Europe (Khasnis and Nettleman 2005). In addition to human activities, passive transpo
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