Hyalomma marginatum and Hyalomma rufipes are two-host tick species, which are mainly distributed in southern Europe, Africa and middle-eastern Asia. They are well-known vectors of Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus and other viruses as well as Rickettsia aeschlimannii. In recent years, these tick species have been found sporadically in Germany, but they do not belong to the autochthonous tick fauna in Germany. Ticks with unusual morphology were collected and sent from private persons or public health offices to involve institutions for morphological identification and further testing. All ticks identified as Hyalomma spp. were tested using molecular detection methods for CCHF virus, Rickettsia spp., Coxiella burnetii and Coxiella-like organisms, Babesia spp. and Theileria spp. Thirty-five ticks with an unusual appearance or behaviour were reported to us during summer-autumn 2018. For 17 of them, the description or photos implied that they belong to the hard tick genus Hyalomma. The remaining 18 ticks were sent to us and were identified as adult Hyalomma marginatum (10 specimens) or adult Hyalomma rufipes (8 specimens). All ticks tested negative for CCHF virus, Coxiella burnetii, Coxiella-like organisms, Babesia spp. and Theileria spp. The screening for rickettsiae gave positive results in 9 specimens . The Rickettsia species in all cases was identified as R. aeschlimannii. These results show that exotic tick species imported into Germany were able to develop from the nymphal to the adult stage under appropriate weather conditions. Fifty percent of the ticks carried R. aeschlimannii, a human pathogen, while CCHF virus or other pathogens were not detected. Imported Hyalomma ticks may be the source of exotic diseases acquired in Germany.

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus is transmitted to humans and animals through tick bites and is thought to circulate in very strictly defined natural environments called natural foci. The most common tick serving as a vector for the TBE virus in central Europe is Ixodes ricinus; it is rarely found in other tick species and in Dermacentor reticulatus it has, so far, only been reported in Poland. Between autumn 2016 and spring 2018 ticks were collected by the flagging method in a new TBE focus in the district of northern Saxony, Germany, outside the known risk areas as defined by the national Robert Koch Institute. Ticks were morphologically identified and tested in pools for the presence of TBE virus using a real-time RT-PCR. TBE virus from positive pools was isolated in A549 cells, and the E gene sequences were determined after conventional RT-PCR, followed by a phylogenetic comparison. TBE virus was detected in 11 pools, 9 times in flagged adults D. reticulatus (n = 1534; MIR: 0.59%, CI: 0.29–11.3%) and only twice in I. ricinus nymphs (n = 349; MIR: 0.57%, CI: 0.02–2.2%). All other ticks, I. ricinus males (n = 33), females (n = 30) and larvae (n = 58), as well as 5 I. inopinatus (2 females, 3 males) and 14 Haemaphysalis concinna (3 females, 11 nymphs), tested negative for TBE virus. TBE virus was not detected in I. ricinus during the summer, when D. reticulatus is not active. Sequence comparison of the entire E gene of the isolated virus strains resembled each other with only 3 nucleotide differences. The most closely related viral sequences belong to TBE virus strains from Poland and Neustadt an der Waldnaab (county of Neustadt an der Waldnaab, Bavaria), approximately 200 km east and 200 km south-west of the new focus, respectively. TBE virus was found in northern Saxony, Germany, with similar MIRs in D. reticulatus and I. ricinus, indicating that D. reticulatus plays an equal role to I. ricinus in virus circulation when both tick species are sympatric.

Background: Hard ticks (Ixodidae) are hematophagous ectoparasites that transmit various pathogens to a variety of hosts including humans. Transhumant herds have been involved in the spread of ticks and associated Rickettsia spp., and studies on this neglected topic have been unexplored in many regions including Pakistan. This study aimed to investigate ticks infesting transhumant herds of sheep (Ovis aries) and goats (Capra hircus) in district Shangla, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Methods: Of the 144 examined animals, 112 hosts (68 sheep and 44 goats) of transhumant herds were infested by 419 ticks of different life stages including nymphs (105; 25%), males (58; 14%) and females (256; 61%). For molecular analyses, DNA was extracted from 64 collected ticks and subjected to PCR for the amplification of tick 16S rDNA and ITS2 partial sequences and for the amplification of rickettsial gltA and ompA gene sequences. Results: All tick specimens were identified as Ixodes kashmiricus based on morphological features. The obtained 16S rDNA and ITS2 sequences showed 95.7% and 95.3% identity, respectively, with Ixodes kazakstani reported from Kyrgyzstan. In the phylogenetic tree, the sequences clustered with members of the Ixodes ricinus species complex, including I. kazakstani and Ixodes apronophorus. Additionally, rickettsial gltA and ompA partial sequences were 99.7% identical to Rickettsia sp. endosymbiont of Ixodes spp. from Panama and Costa Rica and 99.2% with Rickettsia endosymbiont from the USA. Phylogenetically, the rickettsial gltA and ompA partial sequences from I. kashmiricus clustered with various haplotypes of Rickettsia endosymbiont, which were sister cladded to Rickettsia monacensis. Conclusions: This is the first genetic report of I. kashmiricus and associated Rickettsia sp. Large-scale tick surveillance studies across the country are needed to investigate Ixodes ticks and associated pathogens. Graphical

An updated and increased compilation of georeferenced tick locations in Germany is presented here. This data collection extends the dataset published some years ago by another 1448 new tick locations, 900 locations of which were digitized from literature and 548 locations are published here for the first time. This means that a total of 3492 georeferenced tick locations is now available for Germany. The tick fauna of Germany includes two species of Argasidae in the genera Argas and Carios and 19 species of Ixodidae in the genera Dermacentor, Haemaphysalis, and Ixodes, altogether 21 tick species. In addition, three species of Ixodidae in the genera Hyalomma (each spring imported by migratory birds) and Rhipicephalus (occasionally imported by dogs returning from abroad with their owners) are included in the tick atlas. Of these, the georeferenced locations of 23 tick species are depicted in maps. The occurrence of the one remaining tick species, the recently described Ixodes inopinatus, is given at the level of the federal states. The most common and widespread tick species is Ixodes ricinus, with records in all 16 federal states. With the exception of Hamburg, Dermacentor reticulatus was also found in all federal states. The occurrence of the ixodid ticks Ixodes canisuga, Ixodes frontalis, Ixodes hexagonus and I. inopinatus were documented in at least 11 federal states each. The two mentioned argasid tick species were also documented in numerous federal states, the pigeon tick Argas reflexus in 11 and the bat tick Carios vespertilionis in seven federal states. The atlas of ticks in Germany and the underlying digital dataset in the supplement can be used to improve global tick maps or to study the effects of climate change and habitat alteration on the distribution of tick species.