Ticks and Tick-Borne Pathogens at the Wildlife–Domestic Interface

Dear Colleagues,

Over the past few decades, the incidence, diversity, and geographic range of tick-borne diseases have increased rapidly, and this mostly coincides with the upsurge of scientific awareness and anthropogenic influence on biotic and abiotic components of natural ecosystems. Global warming, sociodemographic factors, deforestation, change of habitat, introduction/translocation of susceptible hosts, substitution of indigenous/native hosts to improve genetics, and reduction of wildlife habitats are believed to be the main underlying factors facilitating the geographic expansion of ticks and the emergence of tick-borne pathogens. Many aspects of pathogen and tick ecology depend on vertebrate hosts. Ticks are wingless arthropods, and their dispersal and distribution rely exclusively on the host movement, often culminating in the introduction of pathogens into new areas and non-resistant populations of wild animals. In this sense, wildlife seems to play a particularly important role in the eco-epidemiology of tick-borne diseases, and this is owed above all to the fact that they have a broad distribution range and thus are commonly exposed to different ticks and their associated pathogens. Moreover, they serve as a food resource and maintenance and dispersion hosts for ticks, and as potential reservoirs, they are critical for the long-term persistence of pathogens in natural and periurban settings. The rapidly growing populations and distribution ranges of some wildlife species enhance the contact rate with domestic animals, increasing the risk of infections. However, the pattern of pathogen transmission at the wildlife–domestic animal interface is still poorly understood.

This Special Issue is devoted to collecting original papers, reviews, and case reports dealing with etiology, epidemiology, pathology, diagnosis, and control of ticks, and tick-borne diseases, focusing on those shared between wild and domestic animals.

We look forward to your valuable contributions that will promote further developments in this field.

Dr. Adnan Hodžić
Prof. Dr. Consuelo Almazán
Guest Editors

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• Distribution
• Domestic animals
• Epidemiology
• Tick-borne pathogens
• Ticks
• Wildlife