In Europe, Lyme borreliosis (LB) and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) are the two vector-borne diseases with the largest impact on human health. Based on data on the density of host-seeking Ixodes ricinus ticks and pathogen prevalence and using a variety of environmental data, we have created an acarological risk model for a region where both diseases are endemic (Czech Republic-South Bohemia and Germany-Lower Bavaria, Upper Palatinate). The data on tick density were acquired by flagging 50 sampling sites three times in a single season. Prevalence of the causative agents of LB and TBE was determined. Data on environmental variables (e.g., altitude, vegetation cover, NDVI, land surface temperature) were obtained from various sources and processed using geographical information systems. Generalized linear models were used to estimate tick density, probability of tick infection, and density of infected ticks for the whole area. A significantly higher incidence of human TBE cases was recorded in South Bohemia compared to Bavarian regions, which correlated with a lower tick density in Bavaria. However, the differences in pathogen prevalence rates were not significant. The model outputs were made available to the public in the form of risk maps, indicating the distribution of tick-borne disease risk in space.

Department of Geoinformatics VSB Technical University of Ostrava 17 listopadu 15 708 00 Ostrava Czech Republic

Faculty of Economics University of South Bohemia Studentska 13 370 05 Ceske Budejovice Czech Republic

Faculty of Science University of South Bohemia Branisovska 31 370 05 Ceske Budejovice Czech Republic

GeoHealth Laboratory Geospatial Research Institute University of Canterbury Private Bag 4800 Christchurch 8140 New Zealand

Institute of Comparative Tropical Medicine and Parasitology Ludwig Maximilians Universität München Leopoldstr 5 80802 Munich Germany

Institute of Parasitology Biology Centre Academy of Sciences of Czech Republic Branisovska 31 370 05 Ceske Budejovice Czech Republic

Institute of Parasitology Slovak Academy of Sciences Hlinkova 3 040 01 Kosice Slovakia

Veterinary Research Institute Hudcova 296 621 00 Brno Czech Republic

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