DEPENDENCE OF TICK TROPHIC ACTIVITY AND THEIR EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STATUS ON CHANGES IN CLIMATIC FACTORS IN THE COLD PODILLIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11603/1811-2471.2025.v.i3.15560Keywords:
Ternopil region, Ixodes ticks, climatic conditions, Lyme borreliosis, anaplasmosis, babesiosisAbstract
Summary. Ixodes species Ixodes ricinus and Dermacentor reticulanus are increasingly attacking humans in search of a host. While feeding on blood, these arthropods are capable of transmitting many infectious agents to humans, including those that cause various forms of borreliosis, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, etc. The frequency of their attacks generally depends on a number of conditions, primarily on the main climatic factors: temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, etc.
Material and Methods. Ticks were identified using the optoelectronic system IMAGLAV-SEO. The epidemiological status of ticks was determined by PCR studies using the ROTOR-GENE-600 amplifier, 5-channel (Corbett Research, Australia), in real time with kits containing probes with fluorescent detection during each cycle. DNA/RNA extraction kits “RealBest Extraction 100” by VectorBest (Ukraine representative) were used. The most commonly used test systems were: “RealBest DNA Borrelia burgdorferi s.l.”, “RealBest DNA Anaplasma phagocytophilum/Ehrlichia muris/Ehrlichia chaffeensis”, DNA Borrelia miyamotoi, as well as “RealBest DNA Babesia species” and “RealBest RNA VKE” (Ukraine representative).
Results. The highest frequency of attacks on humans, about 36.06 %, was in 2018, and the lowest in 2017, 29.86 %. In 2020-2024, out of 260 specimens of ticks studied, the largest share of ticks was in 2020 and 2021: 26.62 і 26.92 %.
According to the results, the percentage of ticks carrying infectious agents increased sharply in 2020, 2023 and 2024 and amounted to 62.5, 40.42 and 57.77 %, respectively. In fact, in 2018, 2020 and 2021, when the frequency of tick attacks was highest, the highest average annual relative humidity and relatively low average annual temperature were observed. In 2018, 2020, 2023, and 2024, the highest percentage of infected ticks was observed at high average temperatures in these years.
Conclusions. The distribution and development of ixodid ticks and pathogens in them largely depend on the main climatic factors: average annual temperature, relative humidity and precipitations.
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