Bacterial Pathogens and Symbionts Harboured by <i>Ixodes ricinus</i> Ticks Parasitising Red Squirrels in the United Kingdom.

ABSTRACT: Red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) are native to most of Eurasia; in much of the United Kingdom, they have been supplanted by the non-native grey squirrel, and are considered an endangered species. Very little is known about the range of tick-borne pathogens to which UK red squirrels are exposed. As part of trap-and-release surveys examining prevalence of Mycobacterium spp. in red squirrel populations on two UK islands, Ixodes ricinus ticks were removed from squirrels and PCR screened for Borrelia spp., intracellular arthropod-borne bacteria and the parasitic wasp Ixodiphagus hookeri. At both sites, the most commonly encountered tick-transmitted bacterium was Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (overall minimum prevalence 12.7%), followed by Anaplasma

SUBMITTER: Luu L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8070177 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature