Tick exposure and risk of tick‐borne pathogens infection in hunters and hunting dogs: a citizen science approach

Abstract

Citizen science may be described as a research involving communities and individuals, other than scientists. Following this approach, along with the evidence of a high prevalence of Rickettsia spp. in Dermacentor marginatus from wild boars in hunting areas of southern Italy, this study aimed to assess the occurrence of tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) in ticks collected from hunters and their hunting dogs. From October 2020 to May 2021, ticks were collected from wild boar hunters (n = 347) and their dogs (n = 422) in regions of southern Italy (i.e., Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania and Sicily). All ticks were morphologically identified, classified according to gender, feeding status, host, geographic origin, and molecularly screened for zoonotic bacteria. Adult ticks (n = 411) were collected from hunters (i.e., n = 29; 8.4%; mean of 1.6 ticks for person) and dogs (i.e., n = 200; 47.4%; mean of 1.8 ticks for animal) and identified at species level as D. marginatus (n = 240, 58.4%), Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (n = 135, 32.8%), Rhipicephalus turanicus (n = 27, 6.6%) and Ixodes ricinus (n = 9, 2.2%). Overall, 45 ticks (i.e., 10.9%, 95% CI: 8.3-14.3) tested positive for at least one tick-borne agent, being Rickettsia slovaca the most frequent species (n = 37, 9.0%), followed by Rickettsia raoultii, Rickettsia aeschlimannii, Rickettsia monacensis, Coxiella burnetii, Borrelia lusitaniae and Candidatus Midichloria mitochondrii (n = 2, 0.5% each). Data herein presented demonstrate a relevant risk of exposure to TBPs for hunters and hunting dogs during the hunting activities. Therefore, the role of hunters to monitor the circulation of ticks in rural areas may be considered an effective example of the citizen science approach, supporting the cooperation toward private and public health stakeholders.

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

“…Interventions of this kind may induce shifts in the uptake of a range of personal protective measures. A carefully designed, relatively inexpensive health education message [ 54 ] based on social learning theory can be delivered to an at-risk population and result in increased precautionary behavior, as was the case of Lyme borreliosis, even against a background of widespread (mis)information [ 55 ]. An objective of public health policies (also in the case of TBE and TBDs) was to induce precautionary behavior without causing alarm for reductions in, for example, outdoor activities [ 56 ].…”

The Effects of Lifestyle on the Risk of Lyme Disease in the United States: Evaluation of Market Segmentation Systems in Prevention and Control Strategies

“…Some counties that have high Lyme disease incidence in non-endemic areas include at-risk lifestyle populations/households such as Urban Chic, because these are enthusiastic travelers who might have visited endemic areas and contracted the disease during their leisurely outdoor activities, such as hunting and hiking. Many hunting activities occur in forested areas for wild game associated with B. burgdorferi transmission, which creates a relevant risk of exposure for hunters [ 45 ]. Educational tools, clinical trials campaigns, and public health messages—such as vaccine awareness—could be issued to these at-risk lifestyle populations/households in those non-endemic areas in order to make prevention—such as personal protection—part of their planning before visiting endemic areas for camping, hiking, hunting, and other outdoor activities.…”

Community engaged tick surveillance and tickMAP as a public health tool to track the emergence of ticks and tick-borne diseases in New York

“…Tests were also conducted for tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV). A different study concerning ticks submitted specifically by wild boar hunters in southern Italy focused on more variable tick species, including D. marginatus , Rhipicepualus sanguineus , R. turanicus , and only a small number of I. ricinus , with the pathogen targets being primarily Rickettsia species in addition to Coxciella burnetiid , B. lusitaniae , and Candidatus Midichloria mitichondrii (73).…”