Migratory Birds? Ticks Can Spread Viral Haemorrhagic Fever (Crimean-Congo)

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...1022080136.htm

Migratory Birds? Ticks Can Spread Viral Haemorrhagic Fever

ScienceDaily (Oct. 22, 2012) ? A type of haemorrhagic fever (Crimean-Congo) that is prevalent in Africa, Asia, and the Balkans has begun to spread to new areas in southern Europe. Now Swedish researchers have shown that migratory birds carrying ticks are the possible source of contagion.

The discovery is being published in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention journal Emerging Infectious Diseases...

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Journal Reference:

Mats Lindeborg, Christos Barboutis, Christian Ehrenborg, Thord Fransson, Thomas G.T. Jaenson, Per-Eric Lindgren, ?ke Lundkvist, Fredrik Nystr?m, Erik Salaneck, Jonas Waldenstr?m, Bj?rn Olsen. Migratory Birds, Ticks, and Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2012; 18 (12) DOI: 10.3201/eid1812.120718

[sharon sanders]

Re: Migratory Birds? Ticks Can Spread Viral Haemorrhagic Fever (Crimean-Congo)

snip

Migratory birds acting as long-distance transporters of ticks containing various human pathogens have been reported (10). Pre-adult ticks can stay attached to avian hosts during migration, thereafter detaching at breeding or stopover sites, where mammalian hosts can potentially establish new foci (4). Regarding the finding in Spain (1), one could speculate that new cycles of CCHFV transmission could be initiated through viremic or nonviremic (cofeeding) mechanisms involving, for example, transstadially infected adult H. rufipes ticks and susceptible H. lusitanicum ticks that are feeding on the same mammalian host.

Further research is needed on the interaction between birds and ticks in relation to the geographic distribution of CCHFV. Monitoring the influx of migratory birds carrying CCHFV-infected ticks might give disease-prevention authorities a useful tool for predicting the potential emergence of new disease foci in Europe.

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/18/12/12-0718_article.htm

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Migratory Birds? Ticks Can Spread Viral Haemorrhagic Fever (Crimean-Congo)

Guineafowl may spread Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus
Published on November 30, 2012 at 9:07 PM ? No Comments


Turkey raises and releases thousands of non-native guineafowl to eat ticks that carry the deadly Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus. Yet research suggests guineafowl eat few ticks, but carry the parasites on their feathers, possibly spreading the disease they were meant to stop, says a Turkish biologist working at the University of Utah.

"They are introducing a species that is not eating many ticks, based on studies of stomach content, and is carrying the ticks, which are the best conduit for spreading Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever," says -ağan Şekercioğlu (pronounced Cha-awn Shay-care-gee-oh-loo), an assistant professor of biology at the University of Utah.

"They should stop these introductions immediately because there is a risk they may be doing the opposite of what they intended," says Şekercioğlu, an ornithologist or bird expert and founder of the Turkish environmental group KuzeyDoğa Society. "They want to stop this disease, but they may be helping spread it."

In a paper, set for publication soon in the journal Trends in Parasitology, Şekercioğlu reviewed existing scientific literature. He concluded that the idea guineafowl eat ticks and thus control disease is based on unconvincing evidence even though it achieved "cult status" after a 1992 study suggesting the birds could control ticks that carry Lyme disease bacteria in the U.S. Northeast, at least on lawns.
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http://www.news-medical.net/news/20121130/Guineafowl-may-spread-Crimean-Congo-hemorrhagic-fever-virus.aspx