Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi in a Sick Peregrine Falcon ( Falco peregrinus ) – A Case Report

The importance of Lyme borreliosis, a tick-borne disease caused by the bacterium Borrelia (B.) burgdorferi sensu lato, is constantly increasing. It is the most frequent arthropod-borne disease in the northern hemisphere today. Numerous studies about the prevalence of B. burgdorferi in ticks have been published. A review summarising 1,186 abstracts on epidemiological studies of the tick I. ricinus infected with B. burgdorferi sensu lato between 1984 and 2003 in Europe describes infection rates from 0% (Italy) to 49.1% (Slovakia). The highest infection rates were found in the countries of Central Europe [1]. The annual worldwide number of reported human cases is about 85,000 [2,3]. Lyme disease is a multisystemic infectious disease. It appears that different genospecies have certain organ tropism. The highest risk of infections is posed by infected tick nymphs, as they are easily overlooked due to their small size and wide distribution [4].