First detection of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in quill mites (Acari: Syringophilidae) parasitizing passerine birds

Forest passerine birds and their ectoparasites: Ixodes ricinus ticks and Syringophilidae quill mites were surveyed for infection with Anaplasma phagocytophilum in west-central Poland. Of 126 birds captured from May to June of 2002, 71 (56.3%) comprising eight species, hosted immature I. ricinus ticks. A total of 383 ticks and 71 blood samples collected from tick-infested birds were investigated by PCR. The pathogen was not detected in either bird-derived ticks or in blood samples. Among the captured birds, a total of 14 individuals representing four species hosted quill mites from the family Syringophilidae. Three of the 14 mite pools recovered from the 14 mite-infested birds harbored A. phagocytophilum DNA by amplifying both the epank1 and p44 gene. The PCR-positive pools originated from one blackbird and two starlings. The specific biology of syringophilid mites, which parasitize exclusively inside the quill of feathers, feeding on host subcutaneous fluids, implies that they must have acquired the pathogen from a bacteremic bird. These results provide the first indirect evidence that at least some passerine hosts are prone to develop systemic infection with A. phagocytophilum under natural conditions. Consequently, the infected quill mites may serve as a “biological marker” of past or current infection with the agent within birds.