Prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in Ixodes ricinus and I. lividus ticks collected from wild birds in the Republic of Moldova

Wild birds are important reservoirs of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, the bacterial species complex comprising the agents of Lyme disease in North America and Eurasia. We studied the prevalence of B. burgdorferi s.l. in Ixodes ricinus and I. lividus ticks collected from wild birds in the Republic of Moldova. Wild birds were captured in Kodri forest reserve and in biocenoses near the Dnestr River bank and examined for infestation with ticks. A total of 123 I. ricinus and 54 I. lividus ticks were analyzed for Borrelia spp. B. burgdorferi s.l. was detected in 14% of I. ricinus and 5.5% of I. lividus. Borreliae were most prevalent in I. ricinus ticks collected from blackbirds (17%). BLAST analysis of sequenced PCR products confirmed that I. lividus was infected with both B. burgdorferi s.s. and B. garinii and that I. ricinus was infected with B. burgdorferi s.s. only. This is the first record of the Lyme disease agent in I. lividus ticks.