Migratory birds carry ticks harboring various pathogens, including the zoonotic Yezo virus. In Hokkaido, Japan, we collected ticks from migratory birds during 2020-2021. Eight of 385 pools, comprising 2,534 ticks, tested positive for Yezo virus RNA, suggesting Yezo virus might be spread through the flyways of migratory birds.
Keywords: Emberiza spodocephala; Ixodes persulcatus; Japan; Yezo virus; tickborne diseases; ticks; vector-borne infections; viruses; wild birds; zoonoses.