ArticleParasites & vectors2021
Wild ungulate species differ in their contribution to the transmission of Ixodes ricinus-borne pathogens.
Article in Parasites & vectors, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- A Systematic Review on the Occurrence ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Pooled it
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- The Roles of Contrasting Host Types on the Environmental Abundance ofEcology and evolution · 2026Article
- The niche ofOne health (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2026Article
- Identification and mapping of potential and highly likely vectors for selected vector-borne diseases in the EU and neighbouring countries.EFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority · 2026Article
- Sympatric Occurrence of Five Exophilic Tick Species in the Levice Region (Southwestern Slovakia) and Their Infection with Tick-Borne Pathogens.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
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- Assessing the relative roles of systemic, non-systemic and transovarial transmission pathways for severe fever with thrombocytopaenia syndrome virus and its implications for future research and intervention strategies.Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2025Article
- Detection ofAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Article
- Review of Molecular Tools Used in Diagnosis ofAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Review
- Dynamics ofApplied and environmental microbiology · 2025Article
- Ticks and tick-borne diseases in the northern hemisphere affecting humans.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Review
- A seasonal matrix population model for ixodid ticks with complex life histories and limited host availability.Ecology · 2025Article
- Ticks and Tick-Borne Pathogens Encountered by Dogs and Cats: A North European Perspective.Transboundary and emerging diseases · 2025Article
- Article
- Relating Wildlife Camera Trap Data to Tick Abundance: Testing the Relationship in Different Habitats.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Article
- Risk ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Ticks and Tick-Borne Pathogens: Occurrence and Host Associations over Four Years of Wildlife Surveillance in the Liguria Region (Northwest Italy).Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Article
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8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundSeveral ungulate species are feeding and propagation hosts for the tick Ixodes ricinus as well as hosts to a wide range of zoonotic pathogens. Here, we focus on Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi (s.l.), two important pathogens for which ungulates are amplifying and dilution hosts, respectively. Ungulate management is one of the main tools to mitigate human health risks associated with these tick-borne pathogens. Across Europe, different species of ungulates are expanding their ranges and increasing in numbers. It is currently unclear if and how the relative contribution to the life-cycle of I. ricinus and the transmission cycles of tick-borne pathogens differ among these species. In this study, we aimed to identify these relative contributions for five European ungulate species.
methodsWe quantified the tick load and collected ticks and spleen samples from hunted fallow deer (Dama dama, n = 131), moose (Alces alces, n = 15), red deer (Cervus elaphus, n = 61), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus, n = 30) and wild boar (Sus scrofa, n = 87) in south-central Sweden. We investigated the presence of tick-borne pathogens in ticks and spleen samples using real-time PCR. We determined if ungulate species differed in tick load (prevalence and intensity) and in infection prevalence in their tissue as well as in the ticks feeding on them.
resultsWild boar hosted fewer adult female ticks than any of the deer species, indicating that deer are more important as propagation hosts. Among the deer species, moose had the lowest number of female ticks, while there was no difference among the other deer species. Given the low number of infected nymphs, the relative contribution of all ungulate species to the transmission of B. burgdorferi (s.l.) was low. Fallow deer, red deer and roe deer contributed more to the transmission of A. phagocytophilum than wild boar.
conclusionsThe ungulate species clearly differed in their role as a propagation host and in the transmission of B. burgdorferi and A. phagocytophilum. This study provides crucial information for ungulate management as a tool to mitigate zoonotic disease risk and argues for adapting management approaches to the local ungulate species composition and the pathogen(s) of concern.
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