SURVEY OF HARD TICKS (ACARI: IXODIDAE) INFESTATION ON WILD BOAR AND HEALTH RISK OF TICK-BORNE DISEASES IN CROATIA

Hard ticks (Acari, Ixodidae), as the blood-feeding ectoparasites of wild and domesticated mammals, birds and reptiles, are known as a vector of many viral and bacterial pathogens that also affects human health. Climate changes modify seasonality in life cycle of hard ticks and cause the shift of their climatic niche in Europe, related to latitudinal and altitudinal range. The Eurasian Wild Boar (Sus scrofa L.) as the most widespread game species in Croatia can maintain tick populations. Tick sampling was done from wild boars, hunter-harvested in four hunting grounds: Spacva, Nova Gradiska, Vocin and Slunj. Total of 118 specimens were collected from 18 infested wild boars. The most abundant species was Dermacentor reticulatus (91%), followed by Ixodes ricinus (7%) and Ixodes hexagonus (2%). The largest number of collected ticks was in adult stage (97%), and 3% in the nymphal stage. An average infestation rate was 7 ticks per individual. The results of survey contribute to predicting the health risk of tick-borne diseases in Croatia.