Molecular Detection of Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Babesia odocoilei, Babesia species and Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato in Songbirds
Abstract The blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, is known to carry various tick-borne zoonotic pathogens with the potential to cause debilitating human and animal diseases. Juvenile I. scapularis parasitize songbirds and, perhaps, these avifauna are competent hosts of common microbial pathogens. We extracted brachial venous blood from 18 groundforaging passerine birds that were parasitized by I….