Migrating birds bring ticks

Migrating birds bring parasites with them as they travel, and climate change may be exacerbating the issue, research suggests. In a study published in Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, scientists looked at birds and the ticks found on them as they stopped over in the northern Gulf of Mexico during their migration. Then, they analyzed the ticks back in the lab for their DNA and the bacteria they carried. They collected 421 ticks from 164 birds, which they said was relatively low. Short-distance migrants had more ticks than long-distance ones, they found. The team also detected pathogens in the ticks that could potentially spread disease. The researchers said that climate conditions have historically not allowed the ticks to survive, but as climate changes, it’s getting easier for them to persist along with the pathogens they carry. “If conditions become more hospitable for tropical tick species to establish themselves in areas where they would previously have been unsuccessful, then there is a chance they could bring new diseases with them,” said lead author of the study Shahid Karim of the University of Southern Mississippi.

Read the study in Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology