Molecular Detection and Phylogenetic Analysis of <i>Anaplasma</i> and <i>Borrelia</i> Species in Ticks Collected from Migratory Birds at Heuksan, Hong, and Nan Islands, Republic of Korea

Abstract

The extended distribution and potential introduction of exotic ticks and associated tick-borne pathogens along the northern and southern routes of migratory birds pose zoonotic tick-borne disease risks to wild and domestic animals and incidentally to humans. A knowledge of bird migratory patterns, species of attached ticks, and associated pathogens during their migrations to and from their feeding and nesting grounds is central to understanding associated tick-borne disease risks. Tick-borne disease surveillance was conducted from 2010 to 2011 and 2016 at Hong-do (do = island), Heuksan-do, and Nan-do, major stopovers for migratory birds in Republic of Korea (ROK), as part of the Migratory Birds Research Center bird-banding program for studying bird migration patterns in the ROK. A total of 877 ticks belonging to three genera and nine species were collected, <i>Ixodes turdus</i> (576, 65.7%), <i>Haemaphysalis flava</i> (134, 15.3%), <i>H. longicornis</i> (91, 10.4%), <i>I. nipponensis</i> (56, 6.4%), <i>H. formosensis</i> (7, 0.8%), <i>H. ornithophila</i> (6, 0.7%), <i>H. phasiana</i> (5, 0.6%), <i>H. concinna</i> (1, 0.1%), and <i>Amblyomma testudinarium</i> (1, 0.1%) were collected from 274 birds belonging to 20 genera and 41 species. A total of 15/380 pools (3.95%) were positive for <i>Borrelia</i> species (14 pools of <i>I. turdus</i> and 1 pool of <i>H. flava</i>), while only 1/380 pools (0.26%) was positive for <i>Anaplasma phagocytophilum</i> (1 pool of <i>I. nipponensis</i>). Our findings support the role of migratory birds as possible vectors for the introduction of tick-borne pathogens, which requires continuous monitoring for the potential introduction of ticks and their associated tick-borne pathogens.