Projects

Importance of wild canids as hosts and reservoirs for ticks and tick-borne pathogens in Austria and Serbia

Medical Entomology

Project leader : Dr Snežana Tomanović and Dr Georg Duscher

Project collaborators:

Dr Snežana Tomanović, Dr Darko Mihaljica i Dr Ratko Sukara

Project number:

Duration of the project: 2016-2017

Leading Institution:

Institute for Medical Research, University of Belgrade

Description of the project:

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.
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