The Distribution and Diversity of Tick-Borne Zoonotic Pathogens

A special issue of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease (ISSN 2414-6366). This special issue belongs to the section "Vector-Borne Diseases".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 424

Special Issue Editor

National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China
Interests: Brucella; Rickettsia; Ehrlichia; Coxiella; Bartonella

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ticks are the second most important vectors of pathogens. To date, there are at least 896 tick species worldwide, infesting almost all domestic and wild animals. Tick-borne zoonotic pathogens have remarkable diversity, including bacteria (Rickettsia, Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, Coxiella, etc.), viruses (Dabie bandavirus, Tick-borne encephalitis virus, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, etc.), and protozoa (Babesia, Theileria, etc.). Most of them infect both animals and humans, resulting in a remarkable number of human infection cases. In recent years, tens of novel tick-borne agents have been reported. Some of them have been reported to infect humans, such as the Alongshan virus, Yezo virus, and Xuecheng virus.  Ticks and tick-borne pathogens pose a significant threat to the development of husbandry and human public health.

We focus on the following scopes: (1) The spatiotemporal distribution of ticks. For example, the first report of a tick species in different regions. (2) The genetic diversity of tick-borne pathogens. For example, A. the presence of Rickettsia, Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, and Coxiella species in ticks; B. a novel Rickettsia species in ticks. (3) The transmission model of tick-borne pathogens. For example, airborne transmission or human-to-human transmission of Anaplasma. (4) Human infections of tick-borne zoonotic pathogens. (5) The influencing factors (temperature, rainfall, vegetation, etc.) of tick-borne zoonotic pathogens. We hope to provide some reference for the prevention and control of tick-borne diseases.

Dr. Kun Li
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • ticks
  • diversity
  • distribution
  • bacteria
  • viruses
  • protozoa
  • human infections
  • transmission model
  • influencing factors

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Article
Evaluation of Hospitalizations for Tick-Borne Diseases in the United States from 2002 to 2021
by Sidhvi Nekkanti, Kirsten Hickok, Mahesh Shrestha, Eric Edewaard and Thomas A. Melgar
Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2025, 10(9), 238; https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed10090238 - 27 Aug 2025
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Abstract
Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) are a growing public health concern in the United States. This study analyzed 261,630 weighted hospitalizations from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database between 2002 and 2021 to evaluate trends, coinfections, demographic disparities, and [...] Read more.
Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) are a growing public health concern in the United States. This study analyzed 261,630 weighted hospitalizations from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database between 2002 and 2021 to evaluate trends, coinfections, demographic disparities, and financial impacts. Lyme disease was the most common cause, accounting for 65% of hospitalizations (171,328 admissions), followed by ehrlichiosis/anaplasmosis (46,446), babesiosis (18,057), rickettsial diseases (16,412), tularemia (2428), and other TBDs (19,435). Hospitalizations increased 2.5-fold over the study period, with the Northeast region bearing 52.9% of the burden and peaking in July. Males (53.9%), Caucasians (81.4%), and residents of higher-income zip codes were predominant, though rickettsial diseases showed elevated Hispanic representation (18.4%). Coinfections were common, with 35.8% of babesiosis and 15.6% of ehrlichiosis/anaplasmosis cases involving another TBD, suggesting that routine testing may be warranted. Median hospital charges rose from USD 9433 in 2002 to USD 35,161 in 2021, totaling USD 1.265 billion in 2021. In-hospital mortality was 1.1%, with the highest cause of mortality being babesiosis (2.06%). Future areas for research include characterizing the burden of disease in an outpatient setting, understanding the causes of racial disparities in hospitalizations, and testing strategies to identify coinfection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Distribution and Diversity of Tick-Borne Zoonotic Pathogens)
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