Tick-Borne Pathogens and Diseases in Greece

Abstract

Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) are recognized as a serious and growing public health epidemic in Europe, and are a cause of major losses in livestock production worldwide. This review is an attempt to present a summary of results from studies conducted over the last century until the end of the year 2020 regarding ticks, tick-borne pathogens, and tick-borne diseases in Greece. We provide an overview of the tick species found in Greece, as well as the most important tick-borne pathogens (viruses, bacteria, protozoa) and corresponding diseases in circulation. We also consider prevalence data, as well as geographic and climatic conditions. Knowledge of past and current situations of TBDs, as well as an awareness of (risk) factors affecting future developments will help to find approaches to integrated tick management as part of the ‘One Health Concept’; it will assist in avoiding the possibility of hotspot disease emergencies and intra- and intercontinental transmission. Increased surveillance in Greece is required to ensure clear and effective policies for TBD control.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices on Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus and Tick-Borne Diseases within Professionally Tick-Exposed Persons, Health Care Workers, and General Population in Serbia: A Questionnaire-Based Study

“…Ticks are the second most important vector group in the world following mosquitoes [ 1 ], which transmit pathogens (tick-borne pathogens (TBPs)) of different origins: viral, bacterial, protozoal. In various parts of Europe, tick-borne diseases (TBDs) are the most spread and prevalent of all vector-borne diseases [ 2 ], causing significant economic losses in the treatment of patients (estimated to be EUR 19.3 million in the Netherlands [ 3 ] and EUR 80 million in Germany [ 4 ]). A flavivirus, tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) incidence has been increasing in Europe, causing a high disease burden of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) and costs for health care and society [ 5 , 6 , 7 ].…”

Mediterranean spotted fever-like illness caused by Rickettsia sibirica mongolitimonae, North Macedonia, June 2022

“…The illness probably occurs in a wider geographical area, since R. sibirica mongolitimonae was also detected in ticks from Israel and China [7,8]. On the Balkan peninsula, Turkey is the only country with previous reports of MSF-like illness [1], while MSF cases have been reported in Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Romania and Turkey [9][10][11][12][13]. Although MSF is not reported in Serbia, recent reports of tickborne lymphadenopathy [14] and atypical clinical manifestations caused by Rickettsia helvetica [4] indicate circulation of SFGR in the local population.…”

Exploration of Multi-Gene DNA Barcode Markers to Reveal the Broad Genetic Diversity of Field Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) in a Tropical Environment of Hainan Island, China

“…Ticks seriously threaten animal husbandry and human health. Continuous monitoring of tick distributions and species is necessary for TBD control due to the dearth of studies on ticks in Hainan [Efstratiou et al, 2021].…”