There Goes the Neighbourhood-A Multi-City Study Reveals Ticks and Tick-Borne Pathogens Commonly Occupy Urban Green Spaces
Sormunen, Jani J; Kylänpää, Satu; Sippola, Ella; Elo, Riikka; Kiran, Nosheen; Pakanen, Veli-Matti; Kallio, Eva R; Vesterinen, Eero J; Klemola, Tero (2025-01-16)
Wiley-Blackwell
16.01.2025
Sormunen, J.J., Kylänpää, S., Sippola, E., Elo, R., Kiran, N., Pakanen, V.-M., Kallio, E.R., Vesterinen, E.J. and Klemola, T. (2025), There Goes the Neighbourhood—A Multi-City Study Reveals Ticks and Tick-Borne Pathogens Commonly Occupy Urban Green Spaces. Zoonoses Public Health, 72: 313-323. https://doi.org/10.1111/zph.13208.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
© 2025 The Author(s). Zoonoses and Public Health published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
© 2025 The Author(s). Zoonoses and Public Health published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-202501221298
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-202501221298
Tiivistelmä
Abstract
Introduction:
Humans acquire tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) from infected ticks contacted during outdoor activities. Outdoor activity is at its highest in urban green spaces, where the presence of tick populations has increasingly been observed. Consequently, more insight into factors influencing the presence of ticks therein is needed. Here, we assess the occurrence of ticks and several TBPs in urban green spaces in Finland, estimate related human hazard and assess how landscape features influence tick and TBP occurrence therein.
Methods:
Ticks collected from five cities during 2019–2020 were utilised. Borrelia, Rickettsia, Neoehrlichia mikurensis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Babesia and TBEV were screened from ticks using qPCR. Various landscape features were calculated and utilised in generalised linear mixed models to assess their contribution towards tick and TBP occurrence in green spaces. Finally, human population density proximate to each study site was calculated and used to create population-weighted risk indices.
Results:
Borrelia were the most common pathogens detected, with 22% of nymphs and 43% of adults infected. Increasing forest cover had a positive effect on the densities of nymphs and adults, whereas forest size had a negative effect. Middling percentages of artificial surfaces predicted higher nymph densities than low or high values. Human population-weighted risk estimates were highly varied, even within cities. A positive correlation was observed between total city population and risk indices.
Conclusions:
Ticks and TBPs are commonplace in urban green spaces in Finland. Enzootic cycles for Borrelia and Rickettsia appear to be well maintained within cities, leading to widespread risk of infection therein. Our results suggest that nymph densities are highest in urban forests of medium size, whereas small or large forests show reduced densities. Green spaces of roughly similar risk can be found in cities of different sizes, emphasising that the identification of areas of particularly high hazard is important for effective mitigation actions.
Introduction:
Humans acquire tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) from infected ticks contacted during outdoor activities. Outdoor activity is at its highest in urban green spaces, where the presence of tick populations has increasingly been observed. Consequently, more insight into factors influencing the presence of ticks therein is needed. Here, we assess the occurrence of ticks and several TBPs in urban green spaces in Finland, estimate related human hazard and assess how landscape features influence tick and TBP occurrence therein.
Methods:
Ticks collected from five cities during 2019–2020 were utilised. Borrelia, Rickettsia, Neoehrlichia mikurensis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Babesia and TBEV were screened from ticks using qPCR. Various landscape features were calculated and utilised in generalised linear mixed models to assess their contribution towards tick and TBP occurrence in green spaces. Finally, human population density proximate to each study site was calculated and used to create population-weighted risk indices.
Results:
Borrelia were the most common pathogens detected, with 22% of nymphs and 43% of adults infected. Increasing forest cover had a positive effect on the densities of nymphs and adults, whereas forest size had a negative effect. Middling percentages of artificial surfaces predicted higher nymph densities than low or high values. Human population-weighted risk estimates were highly varied, even within cities. A positive correlation was observed between total city population and risk indices.
Conclusions:
Ticks and TBPs are commonplace in urban green spaces in Finland. Enzootic cycles for Borrelia and Rickettsia appear to be well maintained within cities, leading to widespread risk of infection therein. Our results suggest that nymph densities are highest in urban forests of medium size, whereas small or large forests show reduced densities. Green spaces of roughly similar risk can be found in cities of different sizes, emphasising that the identification of areas of particularly high hazard is important for effective mitigation actions.
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