Survey of Tick-Borne Zoonotic Agents inTicks Carried by Wild Passerines during Postbreeding Migration through Italy.

Abstract

Recently, increasing attention has been posed on the role of migrating birds in the spread of ticks and indirectly of tick-borne pathogens (TBPs). Despite, Italy is considered a bridge between continental Europe and North Africa and a necessary path to connect Mediterranean countries, few studies have been conducted on ticks collected from birds migrating through this country and associated TBPs. The aims of this research were to estimate the infestation burden and identify tick species feeding on migratory birds, and perform a molecular screening for TBPs. During autumn migration (2019-2020), birds were inspected for ticks in a ringing station located in north-east Italy. Ticks were identified and screened for tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV),sensu latu,spp.,spp.,spp.,, andspp.ticks ( = 209) were feeding on 2.6% of passerines (88/3411). Most of these (208/209) were, except one. Eight bird species were infested: common blackbird, redwing, brambling, song thrush, common chaffinch, European robin, water pipit, and coal tit.showed a low prevalence, from 1.4% ofspp., 4.3% of, up to 7.2% ofspp..s.l. had the highest prevalence, 54.6%, and several zoonotic genotypes were identified:,,,sensu stricto, and. All specimens were negative for TBEV andspp.. Although the tick burden was generally low, most of the vectors (>60%) were positive for at least one pathogen, highlighting the relevance of a continuous monitoring of migrating birds as potential sources of pathogen dispersal.