In a collaboration between the Eötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH) and the University of Veterinary Medicine (ÁTE), the ELKH-ÁTE Climate Change: New Blood-Sucking Parasites and Vector-Borne Pathogens Research Group, led by Dr. Gergő Keve and Prof. Sándor Hornok, conducted a nationwide study to examine the spatial distribution of ticks parasitizing birds.

In the western region of Lake Balaton, a total of ten immature specimens of the Hyalomma rufipes species, which is common in Africa, were identified on individuals of the reed warbler and the European stonechat, selected as this year’s bird. Since these bird species do not migrate during their breeding period, and one of the ticks removed from them was a nymph in the early stage of blood-feeding, and the sequencing of three maternally inherited genes was found to be identical in all ten ticks, it can be concluded that they originate from a local population and likely belong to the same genetic lineage. The presence of young nymphs and close genetic relatedness also suggest that the discovered population is capable of reproduction in Hungary. The publication presenting the results was published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science.

Read more: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2023.1147186/full