Background <p>Tick-borne pathogens threaten livestock worldwide, causing diseases such as anaplasmosis, babesiosis, heartwater and theileriosis in cattle. The epidemiology of each disease is complex, with multiple tick and/or host species interacting across variable environments, and disease risk has not been fully assessed. Here, we used a One Health approach that integrates ecological, livestock and wildlife factors to identify areas with potential risk of tick-borne pathogen circulation.</p> Methods <p>Using ecological data on tick and host distributions alongside environmental and anthropogenic variables, we modeled the potential ranges of the four tick-borne diseases in North America and the Caribbean based on tick distributions. By integrating these disease-specific models, we generated comprehensive risk maps highlighting cattle exposure hotspots. We further evaluated how ungulate host communities shape the spatial patterns of tick-borne disease risk.</p> Results <p>Livestock operations in the central and eastern USA and in southern Mexico are the most vulnerable to tick-borne pathogens. Models demonstrated higher performance when incorporating ungulate host distribution, enabling us to identify the key ungulate species influencing tick distributions and the risk of tick-borne diseases.</p> Conclusions <p>Areas with greater ungulate diversity had greater tick diversity, further demonstrating the role of host community structure in shaping the dynamics of tick-borne pathogens. Identifying regions of North America with high exposure to tick-borne pathogens by assessing complex interactions between pathogens, hosts and vectors can aid in developing control strategies to safeguard cattle health.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>

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Linking tick and wildlife host distributions to map risk of tick-borne diseases

  • José-María García-Carrasco,
  • David W. Crowder,
  • Karen C. Poh,
  • Juan Mosqueda,
  • Massaro W. Ueti,
  • Javier Gutierrez-Illan

摘要

Background

Tick-borne pathogens threaten livestock worldwide, causing diseases such as anaplasmosis, babesiosis, heartwater and theileriosis in cattle. The epidemiology of each disease is complex, with multiple tick and/or host species interacting across variable environments, and disease risk has not been fully assessed. Here, we used a One Health approach that integrates ecological, livestock and wildlife factors to identify areas with potential risk of tick-borne pathogen circulation.

Methods

Using ecological data on tick and host distributions alongside environmental and anthropogenic variables, we modeled the potential ranges of the four tick-borne diseases in North America and the Caribbean based on tick distributions. By integrating these disease-specific models, we generated comprehensive risk maps highlighting cattle exposure hotspots. We further evaluated how ungulate host communities shape the spatial patterns of tick-borne disease risk.

Results

Livestock operations in the central and eastern USA and in southern Mexico are the most vulnerable to tick-borne pathogens. Models demonstrated higher performance when incorporating ungulate host distribution, enabling us to identify the key ungulate species influencing tick distributions and the risk of tick-borne diseases.

Conclusions

Areas with greater ungulate diversity had greater tick diversity, further demonstrating the role of host community structure in shaping the dynamics of tick-borne pathogens. Identifying regions of North America with high exposure to tick-borne pathogens by assessing complex interactions between pathogens, hosts and vectors can aid in developing control strategies to safeguard cattle health.

Graphical Abstract