Distribution of ticks in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Ticks are one of the important groups of parasites, whose populations have increased in Europe in the last 20 years and, as vectors of many emerging diseases, are a major threat to human and animal health. Bosnia and Herzegovina has both climate and environmental conditions favorable for ticks. Given this risk, the aim of this study was to identify tick species currently present in this country and to compare the findings with previous studies, in order to update information on their spatial distribution and other parameters of occurrence.From March 2017 to April 2020, ticks were collected in 42 sampling areas (municipalities) throughout the country. Prespecified identification keys were used for identifying the ticks to the species level.A total of 6193 tick specimens from the Ixodidae family were collected from animal hosts or from vegetation. Ixodes ricinus was the most dominant tick species found. However, our results indicate a decrease in the relative contribution of this tick species to the overall abundance of tick populations. Dermacentor marginatus, which almost doubled in abundance compared to earlier studies, is the second most common tick species. We further confirmed the presence of Dermacentor reticulatus, Rhipicephalus bursa, Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato, Hyalomma marginatum and Haemaphysalis punctata. Ixodes hexagonus, Ixodes canisuga and Haemaphysalis concinna, which were previously reported at low abundance were not found amongst our specimens.