Human-biting ticks and zoonotic tick-borne pathogens in North Africa: diversity, distribution, and trans-Mediterranean public health challenges

Abdelbaset Eweda Abdelbaset; Mackenzie L Kwak; Nariaki Nonaka; Ryo Nakao

doi:10.1016/j.onehlt.2023.100547

Human-biting ticks and zoonotic tick-borne pathogens in North Africa: diversity, distribution, and trans-Mediterranean public health challenges

One Health. 2023 Apr 22:16:100547. doi: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2023.100547. eCollection 2023 Jun.

Authors

Abdelbaset Eweda Abdelbaset^{1

2}, Mackenzie L Kwak¹, Nariaki Nonaka¹, Ryo Nakao¹

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Parasitology, Department of Disease Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, N18 W9, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0818, Japan.
² Clinical Laboratory Diagnosis, Department of Animal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut 71515, Egypt.

Abstract

North Africa is home to more than 200 million people living across five developing economies (Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco) and two Spanish exclaves (Ceuta and Melilla), many of whom are impacted by ticks and tick-borne zoonoses. Populations in Europe are also increasingly vulnerable to North African ticks and tick-borne zoonoses due to a combination of climate change and the movement of ticks across the Mediterranean on migratory birds, human travellers, and trafficked wildlife. The human-biting ticks and tick-borne zoonoses in North Africa are reviewed along with their distribution in the region. We also assess present and future challenges associated with ticks and tick-borne zoonoses in North African and highlight opportunities for collaboration and coordination between governments in Europe and North Africa to address public health challenges posed by North African ticks and tick-borne zoonoses.

Keywords: Bird migration; Europe; One Health; Vector-borne disease; Zoonotic spillover.

Publication types

Review