Climate Changes Exacerbate the Spread of Ixodes ricinus and the Occurrence of Lyme Borreliosis and Tick-Borne Encephalitis in Europe—How Climate Models Are Used as a Risk Assessment Approach for Tick-Borne Diseases

Chrysa Voyiatzaki, Sevastiani I. Papailia, Maria S. Venetikou, John Pouris, Maria E. Tsoumani and Effie G. Papageorgiou
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Chrysa Voyiatzaki: Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, Greece
Sevastiani I. Papailia: Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, Greece
Maria S. Venetikou: Laboratory of Anatomy-Pathological Anatomy & Physiology Nutrition, Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Health and Care Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, Greece
John Pouris: Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, Greece
Maria E. Tsoumani: Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, Greece
Effie G. Papageorgiou: Laboratory of Reliability and Quality Control in Laboratory Hematology (HemQcR), Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Health and Care Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, Greece

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 11, 1-14

Abstract: Climate change has influenced the transmission of a wide range of vector-borne diseases in Europe, which is a pressing public health challenge for the coming decades. Numerous theories have been developed in order to explain how tick-borne diseases are associated with climate change. These theories include higher proliferation rates, extended transmission season, changes in ecological balances, and climate-related migration of vectors, reservoir hosts, or human populations. Changes of the epidemiological pattern have potentially catastrophic consequences, resulting in increasing prevalence of tick-borne diseases. Thus, investigation of the relationship between climate change and tick-borne diseases is critical. In this regard, climate models that predict the ticks’ geographical distribution changes can be used as a predicting tool. The aim of this review is to provide the current evidence regarding the contribution of the climatic changes to Lyme borreliosis (LB) disease and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) and to present how computational models will advance our understanding of the relationship between climate change and tick-borne diseases in Europe.

Keywords: climate change; Europe; geographical distribution; Ixodes ricinus; tick-borne diseases; temperature (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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