Environmental determinants of the occurrence and activity of Ixodes ricinus ticks and the prevalence of tick-borne diseases in eastern Poland

Abstract

Ixodes ricinus is the most widely distributed tick species in Europe. Mainly deciduous and mixed forests, pastures, and urban parks are habitats preferred by this species. I. ricinus ticks are also one of the most important reservoirs and vectors of human and animal infectious diseases on the continent. Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. spirochetes causing Lyme borreliosis (LB) in humans and tick borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), which is a causative agent of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), are pathogens with the highest medical importance transmitted by this species. Investigations of the environmental determinants of the occurrence and activity of I. ricinus are crucial for elucidation of the environmental background of tick-borne diseases. In eastern Poland, I. ricinus is a common species with peak activity recorded in May in the entire region. During this period, 49 females, 32 males, and 55 I. ricinus nymphs were collected from an area of 900 m2. The results of the present study show that the occurrence and seasonal activity of this tick species are mainly influenced by microhabitat conditions, and saturation deficit has a significant effect on the activity of the species. Eastern Poland is characterized by a high incidence of LB and TBE. We have shown a correlation between the forest cover and the number of reported cases of tick-borne diseases.

Incidence of Tick-Borne Encephalitis during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Selected European Countries

“…These regions are characterized by a large proportion of forest cover [54][55][56]. Our earlier study conducted in eastern Poland showed a significant positive correlation between TBE and LB prevalence rates and the surface area of forests [42]. Regional differences in TBE prevalence have also been reported in the Czech Republic, Austria, and Slovakia [57][58][59].…”

“…The results of the present study show that TBE is an especially important and growing problem in the Baltic, Central European, and Scandinavian countries, as the incidence of this disease in the analyzed period reached as high as 24.3/100.00 inhabitants in Lithuania (Figure 1). In many European countries, TBE is the second-most common human tickborne disease after LB in terms of the number of diagnosed cases [39][40][41][42]. Microclimatic conditions are the main factors that support the activity of ticks and, in an indirect way, the transmission of tick-borne pathogens [43].…”

Climate Changes Exacerbate the Spread of Ixodes ricinus and the Occurrence of Lyme Borreliosis and Tick-Borne Encephalitis in Europe—How Climate Models Are Used as a Risk Assessment Approach for Tick-Borne Diseases

“…I. ricinus is widely distributed across Europe. Its existence has been recorded in countries such as the UK, Germany, Sweden, Ukraine, Russia, Italy, France, Spain, Romania, Belgium, Austria, Latvia, and Lithuania [ 20 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ]. It is also found in Greece and particularly in Northwestern Greece and Crete, according to the current ECDC map distribution for Europe in March 2021 [ 35 , 36 ].…”

Decoding the Geography of Natural TBEV Microfoci in Germany: A Geostatistical Approach Based on Land-Use Patterns and Climatological Conditions

“…There are only few data for the spatial prediction of future distribution areas of TBEV [ 17 ]. The majority of these studies are based on aggregated data using NUTS (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics) level 3 [ 18 ]. A recently published work from Germany generated a sub-district risk-map for TBE, exclusively for southern Germany, based on 567 probable self-reported places of infection (POI) and 41 confirmed places/foci of infection [ 19 ].…”