Hey all! This is a first step in helping all the other states in the US and the rest of the world!!! They are
finally looking at birds as reservoirs for Lyme disease!!
newscenter.berkeley.edu/2015/02/25/birds-lyme-disease-bacteria/"“This is the most extensive study of the role of birds in Lyme disease ecology in the western United States, and the first to consider the diversity of bird species, their behaviors and their habitats in identifying which birds are truly the most important as carriers.”
Moreover, the birds in the study that were found to be important hosts of Lyme disease bacteria, such as American robins, dark-eyed juncos and golden-crowned sparrows, are coincidentally ones that are commonly found in suburban environments."
“Birds are much more capable of carrying diseases long distances than the small-mammal hosts typical of Lyme disease, and so may constitute an underappreciated component of Lyme disease ecology,”
"Lyme disease spirochetes were detected in 57 of the 100 birds that carried ticks. Among the ticks themselves, 13 percent of the larvae and nearly 25 percent of the nymphs were infected with B. burgdorferi or related spirochetes.
Among the 23 species of birds that were infected, the study authors highlighted the lesser goldfinch, oak titmouse and dark-eyed junco as birds that harbored more subtypes of Lyme disease bacteria than others. In addition, the golden-crowned sparrow was infected more frequently than other species.
Previous studies that tested birds have identified the dark-eyed junco as a likely source of Lyme disease bacteria for ticks that feed on them.
Perhaps one of the most surprising results of this study is that “another species of Lyme disease spirochete closely related to, but distinct from, Borrelia burgdorferi was detected in birds for the first time anywhere in the world,” said study co-author Robert Lane, a medical entomologist and UC Berkeley Professor of the Graduate School, and a leading expert on ticks and Lyme disease.
That spirochete, named Borrelia bissettii, has been known to cause a Lyme disease-like illness in people in central and southern Europe. Furthermore, this bacterium was the most common of the Borrelia species found in birds.
“The fact that we found this particular bacterium for the first time in birds in California is notable because of the ease with which birds can distribute spirochetes to different regions,” said Lane. “It is worth watching to see if this spirochete expands in this state.”