Tick-borne illness in N California

Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato Spirochetes in Wild Birds in Northwestern California: Associations with Ecological Factors, Bird Behavior and Tick Infestation.

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0118146

Article from MSN News City Lab John Metcalfe Tick-borne Lyme disease might tread warily in forests and high grass. But research suggests the bacteria responsible for Lyme lives in more-developed conditions, too, such as the meticulously manicured landscape of the suburbs. The evidence lies in the blood-sucking parasites that infest the feathers and faces of birds. (Never image-search that, by the way.) Several years ago, researchers took on the unenviable job of collecting juvenile ticks from birds around the University of California, Berkeley's extension center. They scraped off 284 ticks and then sampled the birds' blood for Borrelia burgdorferi, the curly pasta-shaped bacteria that causes Lyme. Of the 100 birds that had ticks, 57 tested positive for B. burgdorferi, according to a new study in PLOS ONE. Infected species include the American robin, golden-crowned sparrow, dark-eyed junco, and oak titmouse—birds that are ubiquitous in California suburbs. And in a revelation for epidemiology, the researchers discovered related bacteria responsible for sickening Europeans with Lyme-like symptoms (such as headaches, joint pain, and chronic fatigue) lurking in the animals. Said coauthor Robert Lane in a press....

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0118146