Scientists are working on the implementation of the application as part of the EU project 'PRAGMATICK COST'; one of them is Dr. Anna Wierzbicka from the Department of Game Management and Forest Protection, Poznań University of Life Sciences.

The main goals of the project include: disseminating knowledge on the prevention of tick-borne diseases, promoting vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis, as well as identifying risk factors for the presence of ticks and pathogens transmitted by them, and comparing the epidemiological situation in different cities and countries.

One of the products will be a publicly available application that residents of European countries will be able to use to send information they collect, e.g. a photo of the tick, the place of observation or any symptoms of disease after being bitten.

'This information will be collected, verified and analysed by scientists. Thanks to it, for example, a map of the occurrence of a given tick species in particular regions will be created, so before going on holiday to a country we will be able to check whether there are a lot of ticks there', the zoologist says.

There will also be information about diseases transmitted by ticks, their prevention and diagnosis, as well as practical advice, e.g. how to remove a tick once it has embedded itself in our body.

The researcher adds that a similar application is already available in Switzerland (named Zecke, i.e. tick) and it is very popular among residents.

Citizen involvement in the development of scientific research is a growing trend of citizen science. The first examples of this are over 100 years old (the annual Christmas bird count in the UK). The phenomenon has been gaining popularity in recent decades thanks to the development of the Internet, smartphones and tools for collecting and sharing information.

A Polish example is a nationwide campaign organised by a team led by Professor Anna Bajer from the Department of Eco-Epidemiology of Parasitic Diseases at the Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw. The aim of the 'national tick collection' is to check whether large, exotic Hyalomma ticks have actually reached our country.

Moreover, as part of the 'PRAGMATICK COST' project, Dr. Wierzbicka examines ticks in cities, for example, she checks whether and which agrotechnical measures (e.g. mowing) affect the occurrence of ticks in a given place. According to the scientist, the issue of the occurrence of ticks in cities has not been sufficiently researched in Poland, and research results from other European countries do not fully coincide with current data from Polish cities.

In most areas in Poland, ticks are active for 12 months a year. You can expect them practically in every green area: city parks, gardens, allotment gardens, forests, meadows and fields. Ticks most often lie in wait for their victims in low bushes and grass - mainly up to one meter high.

Tick-borne diseases include not only Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis, but also babesiosis, tularemia, rickettsiosis and anaplasmosis. Lyme disease cannot be prevented, but it can be treated with antibiotics. Vaccinations against tick-borne encephalitis are available (they are paid, although some municipalities run campaigns to subsidize them).

In Poland, tick-borne diseases have been registered since the early 2000s. In 2023, over 25,000 cases of Lyme disease and 659 cases of tick-borne encephalitis were confirmed in Poland (data from the compilation of the National Institute of Public Health PZH-PIB devoted to infectious diseases).

In Poland, especially among parents of small children, there is sometimes a fear of going out to the forest, for example, because one may be bitten by a tick there. Dr. Wierzbicka, who has been promoting knowledge about ticks and the diseases they transmit for years, believes that this is due to the fact that science is still learning about these diseases, and in Poland it is still a relatively new topic.

'In Western European countries, the topic of tick-borne diseases has been present in the public space for years, which is why those societies are aware of possible threats, but there is no panic that is still observed in our country. However, I think that over time, when we become more familiar with this topic, our approach will also change', says Wierzbicka.

She adds that due to the continuous development of knowledge about tick-borne diseases and their diagnostics, access to diagnostics in Poland is still not common and sufficient. 'I would like us, as the years go by, to approach the prevention of tick-borne diseases in the same way as, for example, washing hands or drinking water from safe sources. So that vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis, appropriate clothing and body checks become something obvious for us', she says.

'Finally, I appeal to readers not to be afraid of ticks. Enjoy the summer, of course remember to use repellents, dress appropriately and check yourselves every day’.

PAP - Science in Poland, Agnieszka Kliks-Pudlik

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