A Compendium Review of the Global Epidemiology of Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases: Regional Insights from Türkiye

Vector-borne diseases have historically posed significant threats to plants, humans, domestic animals, and wildlife, with their impact being especially pronounced in tropical and subtropical regions.Among these, tick-borne diseases (TBDs) have emerged as an increasingly critical global concern.This growing threat is largely driven by the expanding geographic range of ticks and the wide array of pathogens they transmit, including viruses, bacteria, protozoa, nematodes, fungi, and infectious prion proteins.The global cumulative economic impact of the challenges caused by ticks and TBDs contributes and exacerbates the persistence of poverty and food insecurity, particularly in resource-limited and low-income regions.This multifactorial burden is further compounded by a complex network of anthropogenic factors, including climate change, habitat fragmentation and ecological degradation, rapid urbanization, changes in agroecosystem management, the resurgence of wildlife reservoirs, and increased anthropozoonotic mobility.Additionally, long-distance and intercontinental migratory birds serve as important ecological carrier hosts, naturally facilitating the widespread distribution and geographic expansion of ixodid tick populations and their associated pathogen complexes.Exacerbating these challenges are regional conflicts, weak environmental and social governance, and rising antimicrobial resistance, which complicate prevention and control efforts of TBDs.Due to the effects of numerous anthropogenic factors-primarily global warming-the risk potential of emerging and re-emerging TBDs is increasing day by day, along with the zoogeographic distribution of ticks and the global challenges they pose.From a global epidemiological perspective, the rising incidence and prevalence of TBDs hold significant implications for both medical and veterinary disciplines.This critical status necessitates an enhanced and comprehensive understanding of ticks, particularly with regard to pivotal aspects such as their vectorial capacity and pathogen transmission dynamics.According to ixodological records, approximately a total of 1,025 tick species, including fossil species, have been reported worldwide to date.Several of these species have also been documented in Türkiye.The current tick fauna reported from seven geographical regions of Türkiye comprises a total of 58 species: 8 species from 6 genera in the family Argasidae (Argas -2 species, Carios -1 species, Ornithodoros -2 species, Alectorobius -1 species, Alveonasus -1 species and Otobius -1 species) and 50 species from 7 genera in the family Ixodidae (Ixodes -17 species, Rhipicephalus -8 species, Dermacentor -4 species, Hyalomma -9 species, Haemaphysalis -8 species, Alloceraea -1 species and Amblyomma -3 species).