Until now it was assumed that the exotic giant tick Hyalomma could reach Austria with migratory birds. Now, experts from the Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES) have described for the first time a new way for these animals to travel: the leeches use the car as a ride.
This previously unknown method of introducing Hyalomma from its native habitat in the north has now been scientifically described for the first time in the journal “Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases”. The increasing influx of giant ticks into the northern regions is not a cause for celebration as this spread is a public health concern due to its ability to transmit the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) and several typhoid variants dangerous to humans wear. worrying fact, the publication said.
As part of an AGES Citizen Science project, in which laypeople can report ticks that resemble Hyalomma marginatum, i.e. ticks that are larger than the native tick species and have yellow-striped legs, the previously unknown type of infestation has now been recorded.
By car from Croatia to Vienna
In May and June 2024, AGES was contacted by several people who had discovered these ticks in the car during the trip home from Croatia or after returning home. According to the information, the region closest to Austria, where Hyalomma ticks are endemic, is Croatia.
One of the giant ticks reached Vienna. It was discovered by a holidaymaker who had previously stayed in Zadar on the Dalmatian coast. When he arrived in Vienna, he found the tick in his car and sent it to the AGES laboratory, where it was identified as Hyalomma, the study said.
Motorized travel is definitely problematic, wrote AGES. Tick nymphs, the penultimate stage of development of the blood-sucking parasite, usually reach Austria via migratory birds. The nymphs need a blood meal and time to develop into adult ticks.
The specimens found were fully grown
In stark contrast to the ticks now examined, as they were adult female and male specimens. This increases the chance of mating and promotes the establishment of a population in Austria. The current study is therefore essential for understanding the possible establishment of new ticks in areas where this species has not previously occurred, AGES wrote.
The molecular biology examination of the specimens did not reveal any evidence of Crimean-Congo fever virus (which is potentially fatal, mind you), but the bacterium Rickettsia aeschlimanni was found in one specimen.
Rickettsiae is a genus of bacteria that cause a group of diseases including Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and typhoid fever. However, diseases with an infection source in Austria have not been documented in recent decades.
Art is one of the climbers of its kind
The tick species Hyalomma marginatum is one of the rising stars of its kind in Austria. Thanks to mild winters and climate change, it could become a permanent home here.
Source: Krone
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