Climate change influences on the potential geographic distribution of the disease vector tick Ixodes ricinus.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Ixodes ricinus is a species of hard tick that transmits several important diseases in Europe and North Africa, including Lyme borreliosis and tick-borne encephalitis. Climate change is affecting the geographic distributions and abundances of arthropod vectors, which in turn influence the geographic distribution and epidemiology of associated vector-borne diseases. To date, few studies have investigated effects of climate change on the spatial distribution of I. ricinus at continental extents. Here, we assessed the potential distribution of I. ricinus under current and future climate conditions to understand how climate change will influence the geographic distribution of this important tick vector in coming decades.

Method

We used ecological niche modeling to esti

SUBMITTER: Alkishe AA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5716528 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature