BACKGROUND: Ticks in Europe comprise over 100 species, with Ixodes, Rhipicephalus, Dermacentor, and Haemaphysalis being the most prevalent. Ixodes ricinus is the most widespread, while Dermacentor reticulatus is common in central Europe. Rhipicephalus sanguineus has expanded into temperate regions, affecting tick-host interactions and pathogen transmission. Companion animals, especially dogs and cats, are common tick hosts and vectors for pathogens such as borreliosis, anaplasmosis, and canine babesiosis. This study investigates the prevalence and species composition of ticks infesting dogs and cats in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania, focusing on seasonal trends and pathogen occurrence. METHODS: From 2020 to 2022, ticks were collected from dogs and cats during veterinary consultations across five countries. A total of 4563 ticks were identified morphologically, and 1085 were screened for pathogens, including Babesia canis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Ehrlichia canis, and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. RESULTS: I. ricinus was the predominant species (65.0%), followed by D. reticulatus (29.8%) and R. sanguineus (3.8%). Ticks were present year-round, with peaks in spring and autumn. Of the 1085 tested ticks, 29.0% were positive for at least one pathogen, with A. phagocytophilum being the most common (15.0%). B. burgdorferi s.l. was detected in 7.0% of ticks, and Babesia spp. in 6.5%, predominantly B. canis. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the year-round risk of tick infestations and vector-borne pathogen transmission in dogs and cats in Central Europe, underscoring the need for ongoing tick surveillance. Veterinary practitioners should enhance public awareness about ticks and associated health risks for companion animals.

Biology Centre Institute of Parasitology Czech Academy of Sciences České Budějovice Czech Republic

Department of Botany and Zoology Faculty of Science Masaryk University Brno Czech Republic

Department of Epizootiology and Clinic of Infectious Diseases University of Life Sciences Lublin Poland

Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj Napoca Cluj Napoca Napoca Romania

Department of Veterinary Sciences Faculty of Agrobiology Food and Natural Resources Czech University of Life Sciences Prague Czech Republic

MSD Animal Health Rahway USA

Zobrazit více v PubMed

Estrada-Peña A, Mihalca A, Petney T. Ticks of Europe and North Africa. In: Estrada-Peña A, Mihalca AD, Petney TN, editors. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2017.

Hvidsten D, Frafjord K, Gray JS, Henningsson AJ, Jenkins A, Kristiansen BE, et al. The distribution limit of the common tick, PubMed

Noll M, Wall R, Makepeace BL, Newbury H, Adaszek L, Bødker R, et al. Predicting the distribution of PubMed PMC

Willeberg P. Existence of the brown dog tick, PubMed

Jaenson TGT, TäLleklint L, Lundqvist L, Olsen B, Chirico J, Mejlon H. Geographical distribution, host associations, and vector roles of ticks (Acari: Ixodidae, Argasidae) in Sweden. J Med Entomol. 1994;31:240–56. PubMed PMC

Ghodrati S, Lesiczka PM, Zurek L, Szekely F, Modrý D. PubMed

Gray JS, Dautel H, Estrada-Peña A, Kahl O, Lindgren E. Effects of climate change on ticks and tick-borne diseases in Europe. Interdiscip Perspect Infect Dis. 2009;2009:1–12. PubMed PMC

Nava S, Beati L, Venzal JM, Labruna MB, Szabó MPJ, Petney T, et al. PubMed

Šlapeta J, Chandra S, Halliday B. The, “tropical lineage” of the brown dog tick PubMed

Šlapeta J, Halliday B, Dunlop JA, Nachum-Biala Y, Salant H, Ghodrati S, et al. The “southeastern Europe” lineage of the brown dog tick PubMed PMC

Millán J, Rodríguez-Pastor R, Estrada-Peña A. Description of PubMed

Dantas-Torres F. Biology and ecology of the brown dog tick, PubMed PMC

Estrada-Peña A, de la Fuente J. Host distribution does not limit the range of the tick PubMed PMC

Földvári G, Rigó K, Jablonszky M, Biró N, Majoros G, Molnár V, et al. Ticks and the city: ectoparasites of the northern white-breasted hedgehog ( PubMed

Medlock JM, Hansford KM, Bormane A, Derdakova M, Estrada-Peña A, George J-C, et al. Driving forces for changes in the geographical distribution of PubMed PMC

Solano-Gallego L, Baneth G. Babesiosis in dogs and cats—expanding parasitological and clinical spectra. Vet Parasitol. 2011;181:48–60. PubMed

Baneth G. Tick-borne infections of animals and humans: a common ground. Int J Parasitol. 2014;44:591–6. PubMed

Voyiatzaki C, Papailia SI, Venetikou MS, Pouris J, Tsoumani ME, Papageorgiou EG. Climate changes exacerbate the spread of PubMed PMC

Daněk O, Hrazdilová K, Kozderková D, Jirků D, Modrý D. The distribution of PubMed PMC

Bajer A, Beck A, Beck R, Behnke JM, Dwużnik-Szarek D, Eichenberger RM, et al. Babesiosis in Southeastern, Central and Northeastern Europe: an emerging and re-emerging tick-borne disease of humans and animals. Microorganisms. 2022;10:945. PubMed PMC

Otranto D, Dantas-Torres F, Breitschwerdt EB. Managing canine vector-borne diseases of zoonotic concern: part one. Trends Parasitol. 2009;25:157–63. PubMed

Solano-Gallego L, Sainz Á, Roura X, Estrada-Peña A, Miró G. A review of canine babesiosis: the European perspective. Parasit Vectors. 2016;9:336. PubMed PMC

Wikel SK. Ticks and tick-borne infections: complex ecology, agents, and host interactions. Vet Sci. 2018;5:60. PubMed PMC

Zając Z, Kulisz J, Woźniak A, Bartosik K, Khan A. Seasonal activity of PubMed PMC

Schäfer I, Müller E, Nijhof AM, Aupperle-Lellbach H, Loesenbeck G, Cramer S, et al. First evidence of vertical PubMed PMC

Ballman ES, Leahy JE, Sponarski CC, Galli MG, Gardner AM. A citizen science approach to investigate the distribution, abundance, and pathogen infection of vector ticks through active surveillance. Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2023;14:102144. PubMed

Nadolny RM, Toliver M, Gaff HD, Snodgrass JG, Robbins RG. Focus stacking images of morphological character states for differentiating the adults of PubMed PMC

Probst J, Springer A, Strube C. Year-round tick exposure of dogs and cats in Germany and Austria: results from a tick collection study. Parasit Vectors. 2023;16:70. PubMed PMC

Nuttall PA. Climate change impacts on ticks and tick-borne infections. Biologia (Bratisl). 2022;77:1503–12.

Kocoń A, Asman M, Nowak-Chmura M, Witecka J, Rączka G. Exposure of domestic dogs and cats to ticks (Acari: Ixodida) and selected tick-borne diseases in urban and recreational areas in southern Poland. Sci Rep. 2022;12:7851. PubMed PMC

Nosek J, Sixl W. Central-European Ticks (Ixodea). Mitt Abt Zool. 1972;61–92.

Földvári G, Široký P, Szekeres S, Majoros G, Sprong H. PubMed PMC

Hajdová B, Cellengová Z, Peťko B, Ondrejková A, Lipinský J, Drážovská M. Tick population dynamics in the city of Košice (eastern Slovakia): a public health study. Front Ecol Evol. 2024;12:1466131. 10.3389/fevo.2024.1466131.

Hornok S, Kováts D, Horváth G, Kontschán J, Farkas R. Checklist of the hard tick (Acari: Ixodidae) fauna of Hungary with emphasis on host-associations and the emergence of PubMed

Geurden T, Becskei C, Six RH, Maeder S, Latrofa MS, Otranto D, et al. Detection of tick-borne pathogens in ticks from dogs and cats in different European countries. Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2018;9:1431–6. PubMed

Semenza JC, Suk JE. Vector-borne diseases and climate change: a European perspective. FEMS Microbiol Lett. 2018;365(2):fnx244. 10.1093/femsle/fnx244. PubMed PMC

Yessinou RE, Cazan CD, Bonnet SI, Farougou S, Mihalca AD. Geographical distribution of hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) and tick-host associations in Benin, Burkina-Faso, Ivory Coast, and Togo. Acta Trop. 2022;232:106510. PubMed

Bouchard C, Dibernardo A, Koffi J, Wood H, Leighton P, Lindsay L. Augmentation du risque de maladies transmises par les tiques dans le contexte des changements climatiques et environnementaux. Relevé des maladies transmissibles au Canada. 2019;45:89–98. PubMed PMC

Hornok S.

Beugnet F, Chalvet-Monfray K. Impact of climate change in the epidemiology of vector-borne diseases in domestic carnivores. Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis. 2013;36:559–66. PubMed

Ogden NH, Lindsay LR. Effects of climate and climate change on vectors and vector-borne diseases: ticks are different. Trends Parasitol. 2016;32:646–56. PubMed

Medlock J, Hansford K. Possible impact of climate and environmental change on ticks and tick-borne disease in England. Climate, ticks, and disease. Wallingford: CABI; 2021. p. 518–27.

Hornok S, Sándor AD, Tomanović S, Beck R, D’Amico G, Kontschán J, et al. East and west separation of PubMed PMC

Sándor AD, Dumitrache MO, D’Amico G, Kiss BJ, Mihalca AD. PubMed

Rubel F, Brugger K, Pfeffer M, Chitimia-Dobler L, Didyk YM, Leverenz S, et al. Geographical distribution of PubMed

Široký P, Kubelová M, Bednář M, Modrý D, Hubálek Z, Tkadlec E. The distribution and spreading pattern of PubMed

Balážová A, Földvári G, Bilbija B, Nosková E, Široký P. High prevalence and low diversity of PubMed PMC

Zając Z, Woźniak A, Kulisz J. Density of PubMed PMC

Kloch A, Mierzejewska EJ, Karbowiak G, Slivinska K, Alsarraf M, Rodo A, et al. Origins of recently emerged foci of the tick PubMed

Paulauskas A, Galdikas M, Galdikaitė-Brazienė E, Stanko M, Kahl O, Karbowiak G, et al. Microsatellite-based genetic diversity of PubMed

Karbowiak G. The occurrence of the PubMed

Medlock JM, Jameson LJ, Phipps LP. Status of PubMed

Drehmann M, Springer A, Lindau A, Fachet K, Mai S, Thoma D, et al. The spatial distribution of PubMed PMC

Mierzejewska EJ, Estrada-Peña A, Alsarraf M, Kowalec M, Bajer A. Mapping of PubMed

Paulauskas A, Radzijevskaja J, Mardosaitė-Busaitienė D, Aleksandravičienė A, Galdikas M, Krikštolaitis R. New localities of PubMed

Sidorenko M, Radzijevskaja J, Mickevičius S, Bratčikovienė N, Paulauskas A. Prevalence of tick-borne encephalitis virus in questing PubMed

Olivieri E, Zanzani SA, Latrofa MS, Lia RP, Dantas-Torres F, Otranto D, et al. The southernmost foci of PubMed PMC

Garcia-Vozmediano A, Giglio G, Ramassa E, Nobili F, Rossi L, Tomassone L. PubMed PMC

Pańczuk A, Tokarska-Rodak M, Teodorowicz P, Pawłowicz-Sosnowska E. Tick-borne pathogens in PubMed

Król N, Kiewra D, Szymanowski M, Lonc E. The role of domestic dogs and cats in the zoonotic cycles of ticks and pathogens. Preliminary studies in the Wrocław Agglomeration (SW Poland). Vet Parasitol. 2015;214:208–12. PubMed

Kubiak K, Szymańska H, Dziekońska-Rynko J, Tylkowska A, Dmitryjuk M, Dzika E. Tick-borne pathogens in questing adults PubMed PMC

Arsevska E, Hengl T, Singleton DA, Noble P-JM, Caminade C, Eneanya OA, et al. Risk factors for tick attachment in companion animals in Great Britain: a spatiotemporal analysis covering 2014–2021. Parasit Vectors. 2024;17:29. PubMed PMC

Duplaix L, Wagner V, Gasmi S, Lindsay LR, Dibernardo A, Thivierge K, et al. Exposure to tick-borne pathogens in cats and dogs infested with PubMed PMC

Walker MD. Ticks on dogs and cats. Vet Nurse. 2017;8:486.

Hansford KM, Gillingham EL, Vaux AGC, Cull B, McGinley L, Catton M, et al. Impact of green space connectivity on urban tick presence, density, and PubMed

Jameson LJ, Medlock JM. Tick surveillance in Great Britain. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2011;11:403–12. PubMed

Cull B, Pietzsch ME, Hansford KM, Gillingham EL, Medlock JM. Surveillance of British ticks: an overview of species records, host associations, and new records of PubMed

Olivieri E, Gazzonis AL, Zanzani SA, Veronesi F, Manfredi MT. Seasonal dynamics of adult PubMed

Stuen S, Granquist EG, Silaghi C. PubMed PMC

Welc-Falęciak R, Kowalec M, Karbowiak G, Bajer A, Behnke JM, Siński E. Rickettsiaceae and Anaplasmataceae infections in PubMed PMC

Stanilov I, Blazhev A, Miteva L. PubMed PMC

Steinbrink A, Brugger K, Margos G, Kraiczy P, Klimpel S. The evolving story of PubMed PMC

Karbowiak G, Vichová B, Slivinska K, Werszko J, Didyk J, Peťko B, et al. The infection of questing PubMed

Karshima SN, Ahmed MI, Kogi CA, Iliya PS. PubMed

Goletić T, Soldo DK, Kapo N, Goletić Š, Koro-Spahić A, Alispahić A, et al. Tick-Borne Pathogens in PubMed PMC

Sainz Á, Roura X, Miró G, Estrada-Peña A, Kohn B, Harrus S, et al. Guideline for veterinary practitioners on canine ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis in Europe. Parasit Vectors. 2015;8:75. PubMed PMC

Andersson MO, Tolf C, Tamba P, Stefanache M, Radbea G, Rubel F, et al. PubMed

Springer A, Lindau A, Probst J, Fachet K, Schäfer I, Dobler G, et al. Germany-wide citizen science study reveals spread of PubMed PMC

Pawełczyk A, Bednarska M, Hamera A, Religa E, Poryszewska M, Mierzejewska EJ, et al. Long-term study of PubMed PMC

McBride JW, Corstvet RE, Gaunt SD, Chinsangaram J, Akita GY, Osburn BI. PCR detection of acute PubMed

Adaszek L, Winiarczyk S. Molecular characterization of PubMed

Lee SH, Healy JE, Lambert JS. Single core genome sequencing for detection of both PubMed PMC

Massung RF, Slater K, Owens JH, Nicholson WL, Mather TN, Solberg VB, et al. Nested PCR assay for detection of granulocytic PubMed PMC