Tick-wildlife host-pathogen network interactions in Northern Africa.

ABSTRACT: Ticks are hosts and vectors of zoonotic pathogens, posing a critical threat to public health and the conservation of animal host populations, especially in Northern Africa. Tick-host-pathogen interactions are driven by tick spatial distribution and abundance, and the influence of biotic (animal hosts) and abiotic (environmental conditions) factors. The objectives of this study, conducted in the Maamora Forest (Northwest Morocco), were: (i) description of seasonal interactions network between off-host questing ticks and the wild hosts, rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and addax (Addax nasomaculatus), (ii) analysis of density-dependent and environmental effects in questing and on-rabbit ticks, and (iii) identification of tick-borne pathogens in questing and on-addax ticks. Results showed that

SUBMITTER: Rafael M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12262905 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature