Could climate trends disrupt the contact rates between Ixodes ricinus (Acari, Ixodidae) and the reservoirs of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l.?

ABSTRACT: This study addresses the modifications that future climate conditions could impose on the transmission cycles of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. by the tick Ixodes ricinus in Europe. Tracking the distribution of foci of a zoonotic agent transmitted by vectors as climate change shapes its spatial niche is necessary to issue self-protection measures for the human population. We modeled the current distribution of the tick and its predicted contact rates with 18 species of vertebrates known to act as reservoirs of the pathogen. We approached an innovative way for estimating the possibility of permanent foci of Borrelia afzelii or Borrelia garinii tracking separately the expected spatial overlap among ticks and reservoirs for these pathogens in Europe. Environmental traits were obtained from MODIS s

SUBMITTER: Fernandez-Ruiz N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7259620 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature