Projects

Identification of ticks and tick-borne diseases, as a growing problem in last decades, coincides with the increase of anthropogenic influence on biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems. As a result of direct and indirect anthropogenic impact, the migration of these pathogens to new areas is enabled. Wild canids are important hosts of ixodid ticks and recently they have been recognized as potential reservoirs of several tick-borne pathogens of zoonotic and domestic animals importance. The species like red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and golden jackals (Canis aureus) also represent an important source of infections for domestic animals and humans, mostly due to their close proximity to human settlements and frequent exposure to different vector species. Currently, these populations are both still rapidly growing in urban areas and spreading their ranges toward Central and Eastern Europe increasing the risk of human and animal exposure to pathogens. However, many aspects of the epidemiology of tick-borne diseases in wild canids, such as host range, tick range and their geographical distribution are still poorly understood.

The principal goal of the project is to verify if, and to what extent, anthropic impact and climatic changes affect the risk of vector borne diseases transmission. The project aims to develop an epidemiological model where the environment is modeled on both italian and serbian characteristics, the wild animal host is the red fox, and the pathogens cause vector-borne diseases. The diseases considered are transmitted by mosquitos (Dirofilaria immitis), by ticks (Babesia sp. Ehrlichia sp., Anaplasma phagocitophylum), and by sandflies (Leishmania infantum). The pathogens to be studied were chosen because they are very different from the phylogenetic and biological points of view and in their ecological needs. In this way it will be possible to verify the large number of mechanisms through which environmental changes can affect the spread of pathogens.

Identification of ticks and tick-borne diseases, as a growing problem in last decades, coincides with the increase of anthropogenic influence on biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems. As a result of direct and indirect anthropogenic impact, the migration of these pathogens to new areas is enabled. Wild canids are important hosts of ixodid ticks and recently they have been recognized as potential reservoirs of several tick-borne pathogens of zoonotic and domestic animals importance. The species like red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and golden jackals (Canis aureus) also represent an important source of infections for domestic animals and humans, mostly due to their close proximity to human settlements and frequent exposure to different vector species. Currently, these populations are both still rapidly growing in urban areas and spreading their ranges toward Central and Eastern Europe increasing the risk of human and animal exposure to pathogens. However, many aspects of the epidemiology of tick-borne diseases in wild canids, such as host range, tick range and their geographical distribution are still poorly understood.