Search results for "tick"
showing 10 items of 166 documents
Detection of tick-borne encephalitis virus in I. ricinus ticks collected from autumn migratory birds in Latvia.
2014
Birds have a potential of spreading ticks via bird migration routes. In this study, we screened 170 ticks removed during autumn 2010 from 55 birds belonging to 10 species for the presence of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV). In total, TBEV RNA was detected in 14% of I. ricinus tick samples obtained from different birds species. The results of this study indicate the possible role of migrating birds in the dispersal of TBEV-infected ticks along the southward migration route.
Variable exposure and immunological response to Lyme disease Borrelia among North Atlantic seabird species.
2008
Colonial seabirds often breed in large aggregations. These individuals can be exposed to parasitism by the tick Ixodes uriae , but little is known about the circulation of pathogens carried by this ectoparasite, including Lyme disease Borrelia . Here we investigated the prevalence of antibodies (Ab) against Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in seabird species sampled at eight locations across the North Atlantic. Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay tests, we found that the prevalence of anti- Borrelia Ab in adult seabirds was 39.6% on average (over 444 individuals), but that it varied among colonies and species. Common guillemots showed higher seroprevalence (77.1%±5.9) than black-legged …
Reforms and decentralization: friends or foes
2013
Systemic concerns about markets, capitalism and the role of the state in the economy are salient again. Relatively large-scale reforms of economic and social arrangements are seriously considered. Historical experience suggests that reforms of that kind are sometimes associated with important changes in institutional arrangements pertaining to political decentralization. To explore the relationship between economic reforms and decentralization, the paper argues that a reform has two dimensions. It is a process and it is a design. The organization of the paper is inspired by that distinction. For economists, it seems natural to reason in terms of design -- that is, to perceive reform as the …
Political Yardstick Competition and Corporate Governance in the European Union
2006
http://www.dur.ac.uk/john.ashworth/EPCS/Papers_and_Authors.php; The question whether regulatory competition in the area of company law could take place in the European Union (EU) in a way similar to the form it takes in the United States (the Delaware phenomenon) is topical because of some recent judgments of the European Court of Justice (Centros) and documents and projects produced by the European Commission. That question is typically discussed, however, as if voters did not count and as if competition among governments was exclusively based on the mobility of firms across jurisdictions. But intergovernmental competition can also take the form of yardstick, or relative performance, compe…
Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in Ixodes ricinus ticks collected from migratory birds in Southern Norway
2010
Abstract Background Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) are the causative agent for Lyme borreliosis (LB), the most common tick-borne disease in the northern hemisphere. Birds are considered important in the global dispersal of ticks and tick-borne pathogens through their migration. The present study is the first description of B. burgdorferi prevalence and genotypes in Ixodes ricinus ticks feeding on birds during spring and autumn migration in Norway. Methods 6538 migratory birds were captured and examined for ticks at Lista Bird Observatory during the spring and the autumn migration in 2008. 822 immature I. ricinus ticks were collected from 215 infested birds. Ticks were investigated f…
BORRELIA BURGDORFERI SENSU LATO DETECTED IN SKIN OF NORWEGIAN MOUNTAIN HARES (LEPUS TIMIDUS) WITHOUT SIGNS OF DISSEMINATION
2011
The mountain hare (Lepus timidus) population in southern Norway appears to be in decline. Necropsy and laboratory examinations of 36 hares found dead or diseased during 2007-2009 in Vest- and Aust-Agder counties showed that disease and deaths were attributed to multiple causes, with no specific etiology emerging as a cause for population decline. To investigate whether Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) infection is associated with mortality in mountain hares, tissues and ticks collected from hares were investigated for infection with the spirochete. Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. DNA was not detected in samples from internal organs, whereas Borrelia afzelii, B. burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.…
First Report of Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Babesia microti in Rodents in Finland
2014
Tick-borne diseases pose an increasingly important public health problem in Europe. Rodents are the reservoir host for many tick-transmitted pathogens, including Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Babesia microti, which can cause human granulocytic anaplasmosis and babesiosis, respectively. To estimate the presence of these pathogens in rodents in Finland, we examined blood samples from 151 bank voles (Myodes glareolus) and demonstrate, for the first time, that A. phagocytophilum and B. microti commonly infect bank voles (in 22% and 40% of animals, respectively) in Finland. Sequence analysis of a fragment of 18S rRNA showed that the B. microti strain isolated was identical to the Munich strain, …
Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and Anaplasma phagocytophilum in Ixodes ricinus ticks in Brønnøysund in northern Norway
2013
Ticks are important vectors of disease for both humans and animals. In Europe, Lyme borreliosis is the most abundant tick-borne human disease, whereas anaplasmosis, or tick-borne fever, is the most widespread tick-borne infection in domestic animals. However, knowledge about the prevalence of the causative disease agents in questing ticks in the northern range of their distribution in Norway is missing. Ixodes ricinus ticks were therefore collected by flagging vegetation in Brønnøysund, an area near the Arctic Circle in Norway where ticks have been abundant for decades. Ticks were analysed for infection with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and Anaplasma phagocytophilum by real-time PCR ampl…
Continous alert for rickettsiosis in Sicily: molecular characterization of Rickettsia sp. obtained from ticks and human beings (1986-2001).
2006
Several strains of Rickettsia sp. were isolated from patients in western Sicily with MSF (Mediterranean Spotted Fever) as well as ticks. Strains isolated were examined by PCR and identified as belonging to R. conorii sp. Importantly a strain of Israeli Spotted Fever Rickettsiae, obtained from a tick, was also identified. Our data prove that strains other than the classical R. conorii also circulate in Sicily.
Decentralization as an incentive scheme when regional differences are large
2010
It has been suggested that large regional differences could be an obstacle to that part of the political accountability of office-holders which is based on yardstick competition among governments. The paper addresses that question and concludes that the obstacle is not too serious in general. The second part of the paper is devoted to the persistent economic underperformance of some regions in countries such as Germany, Italy and (with regard to regions overseas) France. How is it that the mechanism of yardstick competition induces a convergence of economic performance among European Union member countries, even those particularly poor initially, but fails to induce all the underperforming …