Blackbirds are reservoirs of the bacteria that causes Lyme disease

Funded by FCT, the first study carried out in Portugal on the role of common birds in the spread of Lyme disease (borreliosis) revealed that the blackbird is one of the main reservoir hosts of the bacteria responsible for this disease. If not treated in time, Lyme disease causes serious damage to the neurological, dermatological and joint systems. The bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., is transmitted by ticks, and researchers from the University of Coimbra, the Center for the Study of Vectors and Infectious Diseases of the Dr. Ricardo Jorge National Health Institute and the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland), have detected the presence of the bacterium in parasitic ticks of various species of birds in Portugal, namely the blackbird.

According to Cláudia Norte, the team's coordinator, "This research provides valuable information for defining risk areas and the factors that influence the emergence of tick-borne pathologies and, eventually, preventing disease outbreaks." The results were published in the international scientific journals Experimental and Applied Acarology and Environmental Microbiology.