Host dispersal shapes the population structure of a tick-borne bacterial pathogen.

Birds are hosts for several zoonotic pathogens. Because of their high mobility, especially of longdistance migrants, birds can disperse these pathogens, affecting their distribution and phylogeography. We focused on Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, which includes the causative agents of Lyme borreliosis, as an example for tick-borne pathogens, to address the role of birds as propagation hosts of zoonotic agents at a large geographical scale.

Tick- and fly-borne bacteria in ungulates: the prevalence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum, haemoplasmas and rickettsiae in water buffalo and deer species in Central Europe, Hungary.

Background: Hunting constitutes an important industry in Europe. However, data on the prevalence of vector-borne bacteria in large game animal species are lacking from several countries. Blood or spleen samples (239 and 270, respectively) were taken from red, fallow and roe deer, as well as from water buffaloes, mouflons and wild boars in Hungary, followed by DNA extraction and molecular analyses for Anaplasma phagocytophilum, haemoplasmas and rickettsiae.

Evidence for host specificity of Theileria capreoli genotypes in cervids.

Data on the prevalence of piroplasms in buffaloes and large game animal species are lacking from several central European countries. Therefore, to investigate the presence of Babesia/Theileria DNA in these hosts, 239 blood and 270 spleen samples were taken from cervids (red, fallow, and roe deer), as well as from water buffaloes, mouflons, and wild boars in southwestern Hungary, followed by DNA extraction and molecular analysis for piroplasms. All samples from buffaloes and wild boars were PCR negative.

Babesia genotypes in Haemaphysalis concinna collected from birds in Hungary reflect phylogeographic connections with Siberia and the Far East.

Haemaphysalis concinna is the second most common tick species attaching to birds in Hungary. Recently, Babesia genotypes, found in Siberia and the Far East, have been detected in this tick species collected from the vegetation in Hungary and Slovakia. The aim of this study was to molecularly investigate if these piroplasms also occur in H.

An unexpected advantage of insectivorism: insect moulting hormones ingested by song birds affect their ticks.

Ecdysteroids are important hormones that regulate moulting in arthropods. Three-host ixodid ticks normally moult to the next stage after finishing their blood meal, in the off-host environment. Presumably, three-host ticks that feed on the blood of insectivorous vertebrate hosts can be exposed to high levels of exogenous ecdysteroids causing them to initiate apolysis (the first step of moulting) on the vertebrate host.

Diversity of Haemaphysalis-associated piroplasms of ruminants in Central-Eastern Europe, Hungary.

Background: Increasing numbers of genetic variants are being recognized among piroplasms, but the precise taxonomical status, the tick vector and the geographical range of several species or genotypes are still unknown. Bovine piroplasmosis was reported to re-emerge in north-east Hungary. Because Theileria-infection was newly diagnosed in one cattle herd in the same region of the country, the aim of this study was to molecularly identify the relevant agent, to find its local vector tick species, and to examine the range of Babesia/Theileria spp.

Screening of bat faeces for arthropod-borne apicomplexan protozoa: Babesia canis and Besnoitia besnoiti-like sequences from Chiroptera.

Background: Bats are among the most eco-epidemiologically important mammals, owing to their presence in human settlements and animal keeping facilities. Roosting of bats in buildings may bring pathogens of veterinary-medical importance into the environment of domestic animals and humans. In this context bats have long been studied as carriers of various pathogen groups.