Despite the availability of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) vaccines, the incidence of TBE is increasing. To understand the historical patterns of infection, we conducted a global meta-analysis of studies before December 2023 reporting human antibody prevalence against TBEV (TBE virus) among general or high-risk population groups stratified by country, collection year, serological method, and vaccination status. Pooled data were compared within groups over time by random-effects modeling. In total, 2403 articles were retrieved; 130 articles published since 1959 were included. Data were extracted from 96 general populations (117,620 participants) and 71 high-risk populations (53,986 participants) across 33 countries. Germany had the most population groups (21), and Poland had the most participants (44,688). Seven serological methods were used; conventional IgG/IgM ELISAs were the most common (44%). Four studies (1.7%) used NS1-ELISA serology. Between 1956-1991 and 1992-2022, anti-TBEV seroprevalence remained at ~2.75% across all population groups from \"high-risk\" areas (p = 0.458) but decreased within general populations (1.7% to 1%; p = 0.001) and high-risk populations (5.1% to 1.3%; p < 0.001), possibly due to differences in the study methodologies between periods. This global summary explores how serological methods can be used to assess TBE vaccination coverage and potential exposure to TBEV or measure TBE burden and highlights the need for standardized methodology when conducting TBE seroprevalence studies to compare across populations.

UNASSIGNED: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is the widest emerging severe viral tick-borne disease affecting humans. Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) circulates by routine enzootic tick-vertebrate hosts-tick transmission cycles. We aimed to evaluate the molecular prevalence of CCHFV in ticks on a global scale.
UNASSIGNED: A systematic procedure was used to perform this review and meta-analysis using PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science databases from 1 January 2000 through 12 April 2023. Of the 2310 papers identified, 43 articles met the inclusion criteria for this study.
UNASSIGNED: The overall prevalence of CCHFV was 4.0% (95%CI: 2.7-6.0%) in ticks on the global scale, with heterogeneity (I2=96.387; p=0.0001). The genus Hyalomma was shown as the most frequent tick infected with CCHFV 5.4% (95%CI: 3.3-8.7%). We found that the pooled prevalence of CCHFV was higher in Hyalomma aegyptium 27.6% (95%CI: 22.7-33.2%). The pooled prevalence was higher in Asia 5.1% (95%CI: 3.3-7.7%), and Spain 21.0% (95%CI: 3.4-66.9). The locations with annual rainfall of 401-1000 mm 6.1% (95%CI: 2.6-13.5%) and latitude of 31-40° 6.0% (95%CI: 4.1-8.9%) were associated with the greatest pooled prevalence of CCHFV in ticks.
UNASSIGNED: Surveillance of CCHFV in ticks will give a better comprehension for the future implementation of public health interventions. The question of whether Hyalomma aegyptium is a plausible or certain vector should be the subject of further investigation.

Alkhumra hemorrhagic fever virus (AHFV) has spread beyond the Middle East. However, the actual global prevalence of the virus is yet unknown. This systematic review and meta-analysis, thus, followed the standard reporting guidelines to provide comprehensive details on the prevalence of Alkhumra virus infection globally. The pooled prevalence of AHFV globally was estimated at 1.3% (95% CI: 0.3-6.3), with higher prevalence in humans (3.4%, 95% CI: 0.4-25.0) compared to animals (0.7%, 95% CI: 0.3-1.8). The prevalence in ticks and camels were 0.7% and 0.2%, respectively. Overall, there was a high prevalence rate in Asia (2.6%) compared to Africa (0.5%), and a distinctly higher prevalence in Saudi Arabia (4.6%) compared to other parts of the world (<1%). Lower surveillance rate in humans was observed in recent years. These findings will aid public health preparedness, surveillance, and development of preventive measures due to AHFV\'s potential for outbreaks and severe health consequences.

BACKGROUND: Brucellosis is a zoonotic affliction instigated by bacteria belonging to the genus Brucella and is characterized by a diverse range of pervasiveness, multiple transmission routes, and serious hazards. It is imperative to amalgamate the current knowledge and identify gaps pertaining to the role of ticks in brucellosis transmission.
METHODS: We systematically searched China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WanFang, Google Scholar, and PubMed on the topic published until April 23, 2022. The procedure was performed in accordance with the Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. The selected articles were categorized across three major topic areas, and the potential data was extracted to describe evidence-practice gaps by two reviewers.
RESULTS: The search identified 83 eligible studies for the final analyses. The results highlighted the potential capacity of ticks in brucellosis transmission as evidenced by the detection of Brucella in 16 different tick species. The pooled overall prevalence of Brucella in ticks was 33.87% (range: 0.00-87.80%). The review also revealed the capability of Brucella to circulate in parasitic ticks\' different developmental stages, thus posing a potential threat to animal and human health. Empirical evidence from in vitro rodent infection experiments has revealed that ticks possess the capability to transmit Brucella to uninfected animals (range: 45.00-80.00%). Moreover, significant epidemiological associations have been found between the occurrence of brucellosis in animals and tick control in rangelands, which further suggests that ticks may serve as potential vectors for brucellosis transmission in ruminants. Notably, a mere three cases of human brucellosis resulting from potential tick bites were identified in search of global clinical case reports from 1963 to 2019.
CONCLUSIONS: It is imperative to improve the techniques used to identify Brucella in ticks, particularly by developing a novel, efficient, precise approach that can be applied in a field setting. Furthermore, due to the lack of adequate evidence of tick-borne brucellosis, it is essential to integrate various disciplines, including experimental animal science, epidemiology, molecular genetics, and others, to better understand the efficacy of tick-borne brucellosis. By amalgamating multiple disciplines, we can enhance our comprehension and proficiency in tackling tick-borne brucellosis.

BACKGROUND: Starting in the early 20th century, ticks and their pathogens have been detected during surveillance efforts in Canada. Since then, the geographic spread of tick vectors and tick-borne pathogens has steadily increased in Canada with the establishment of tick and host populations. Sentinel surveillance in Canada primarily focuses on Ixodes scapularis, which is the main vector of Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium causing Lyme disease. Other tick-borne pathogens, such as Anaplasma, Babesia, and Rickettsia species, have lower prevalence in Canada, but they are emerging or re-emerging in tick and host populations.
UNASSIGNED: Here, we assessed the historical associations between tick vectors, hosts and pathogens and identified spatiotemporal clusters of pathogen presence in ticks in Canada using data extracted from the literature.
RESULTS: Approximately one-third of ticks were infected with a pathogen, and these ticks were feeding primarily on bird and mammal hosts. B. burgdorferi was the most detected pathogen and I. scapularis harboured the greatest number of pathogens. We identified several spatial outliers of high pathogen presence in ticks in addition to five spatiotemporal clusters in southern Canada, all of which have long-established tick populations. Six spatiotemporal clusters of high pathogen presence in ticks were also identified based on surveillance method, with four clusters associated with passive surveillance and two clusters associated with active surveillance.
CONCLUSIONS: Our review represents the first systematic assessment of the literature that identifies historical associations and spatiotemporal changes in tick-host-pathogen disease systems in Canada over broad spatial and temporal scales.
CONCLUSIONS: As distinct spatiotemporal clusters were identified based on surveillance method, it is imperative that surveillance efforts employ standardized methods and data reporting to comprehensively assess the presence, spread and risk of tick-borne pathogens in tick and host populations.

Ticks are obligate, haematophagous arthropods that are distributed across the world, which may transmit more than 200 pathogens, including viruses, bacteria and parasites. A large number of tick species are widespread in China, and their transmitting tick-borne viral diseases pose a great threat to human health in endemic foci. This review describes the epidemiology of common, emerging and potentially pathogenic tick-borne viruses in China, and recommends the assessment of public health significance and pathogenicity of emerging tick-borne viruses using reverse microbial etiology, so as to provide insights into the management of emerging tick-borne diseases in China.
［摘要］ 蜱是一种呈全球性分布的体外吸血节肢动物, 可传播包 括病毒、细菌、寄生虫在内的200余种病原。我国蜱种类多、分布 广, 其传播的病毒性疾病给流行区广大人民群众身体健康造成了 严重威胁。本文概述了我国常见、新发及具有潜在致病性的蜱媒 病毒流行现状, 并建议利用反向病原学研究策略开展新发蜱媒病 毒公共卫生意义评估及致病性研究, 从而为我国新发蜱传疾病防 控提供参考。.

Tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) can be divided into three groups: bacteria, parasites, and viruses. They are transmitted by a wide range of tick species and cause a variety of human, animal, and zoonotic diseases. A total of 148 publications were found on tick-borne pathogens in wild animals, reporting on 85 species of pathogens from 35 tick species and 17 wild animal hosts between 2000 and February 2021. The main TBPs reported were of bacterial origin, including Anaplasma spp. and Rickettsia spp. A total of 72.2% of the TBPs came from infected ticks collected from wild animals. The main tick genus positive for TBPs was Ixodes. This genus was mainly reported in Western Europe, which was the focus of most of the publications (66.9%). It was followed by the Hyalomma genus, which was mainly reported in other areas of the Mediterranean Rim. These TBPs and TBP-positive tick genera were reported to have come from a total of 17 wild animal hosts. The main hosts reported were game mammals such as red deer and wild boars, but small vertebrates such as birds and rodents were also found to be infected. Of the 148 publications, 12.8% investigated publications on Mediterranean islands, and 36.8% of all the TBPs were reported in seven tick genera and 11 wild animal hosts there. The main TBP-positive wild animals and tick genera reported on these islands were birds and Hyalomma spp. Despite the small percentage of publications focusing on ticks, they reveal the importance of islands when monitoring TBPs in wild animals. This is especially true for wild birds, which may disseminate their ticks and TBPs along their migration path.

Haemaphysalis Koch, 1844, is the largest genus of ticks in Southeast Asia, but little information is available concerning the species present in Laos. Recent research has yielded records for 10 Haemaphysalis species in Laos, including 5 new records, as well as 3 morphological entities of uncertain status. Further morphological and molecular studies are needed to clarify our taxonomic understanding of this genus in Southeast Asia.

BACKGROUND: Ticks are hematophagous parasites that transmit an extensive range of pathogens to their vertebrate hosts. Ticks can destroy invading microorganisms or alleviate infection via their rudimentary but orchestrated innate immune system. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are important components of tick innate immunity. Among these humoral effector molecules, defensins are well-studied and widely identified in various species of Ixodidae (hard ticks) and Argasidae (soft ticks). This review was aimed at presenting the characterization of tick defensins from structure-based taxonomic status to antimicrobial function.
METHODS: All published papers written in English from 2001 to May 2022 were searched through PubMed and Web of Science databases with the combination of relevant terms on tick defensins. Reports on identification and characterization of tick defensins were included. Of the 329 entries retrieved, 57 articles were finally eligible for our scoping review. Tick defensins mainly belong to the antibacterial ancient invertebrate-type defensins of the cis-defensins superfamily. They are generally small, cationic, and amphipathic, with six cysteine residues forming three intra-molecular disulfide bonds. Tick defensins primarily target membranes of a variety of pathogens, including Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, fungi, viruses, and protozoa. Since tick defensins have a high degree of variability, we summarize their common biological properties and enumerate representative peptides. Along with the various and potent antimicrobial activities, the role of tick defensins in determining vector competence is discussed.
CONCLUSIONS: Due to their broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities, tick defensins are considered novel candidates or targets for controlling infectious diseases.

Lyme disease (LD) is a common arthropod-borne inflammatory disorder prevalent in the northern hemisphere. LD is caused by a spirochete named Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., which is transmitted to humans by ticks. Climate, environment, and other factors affect land use; recreational-behavior changes affect human contact with infected ticks. Studies in Europe and North America have looked at these aspects, but studies in Asia have not. We searched databases to identify all relevant abstracts published until March 2021. A meta-analysis was undertaken using the standard methods and procedures established by the Cochrane Collaboration. Ninety-one articles were included in our meta-analysis. The literature search identified data from nine countries (China, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Russia Siberia region, South Korea, Thailand and Turkey). Furthermore, 53,003 ticks from six genera (Amblyomma, Dermacentor, Haemaphysalis, Hyalomma, Ixodes and Rhipicephalus) were inspected for infection with B. burgdorferi. The pooled prevalence was 11.1% (95% CI = 8.3-14.2%). Among the nine countries, China had the most studies (56) and Malaysia had the highest infection rate (46.2%). Most infected ticks were from the genera Ixodes and Haemaphysalis. Ticks of the genus Ixodes had the highest infection rate (16.9%). Obvious heterogeneity was noted in our meta-analysis. We analyzed the heterogeneity with regard to countries, genera, time points, and detection methods. This study suggests that Ixodes, Haemaphysalis and Dermacentor may be the most common tike of B. burgdorferi-positive in Asia. The highest proportion of ticks infected by B. burgdorferi were from the genus Ixodes. This meta-analysis is the first attempt to explain the B. burgdorferi infection of hard-body ticks in Asia. The infection rate for each country and infection rate of different tick genera were analyzed: there were large differences between them. The literature is concentrates mainly on East Asia, and data are limited. Our study can provide a reference for a more comprehensive and in-depth investigation of ticks in Asia infected by B. burgdorferi spirochetes.