A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Living with ticks: Results of an online survey of the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) regarding ticks and tick-borne pathogens in academic environments across Europe
Authors: Estrada-Peña, Agustín; Antunes, Sandra; Domingos, Ana; Esser, Helen; Földvári, Gábor; Fuehrer, Hans-Peter; Gargili, Aysen; van Gestel, Mats; Grandi, Giulio; Kazimirova, Maria; Kiewra, Dorota; Klemola, Tero; Kjaer, Lene Jung; Kjelland, Vivian; Kubiak, Katarzyna; de Meneghi, Daniele; Mihalca, Andrei Daniel; Moutailler, Sarah; Potkonjak, Aleksandar; Prokop, Pavel; Robert, Käthe; Ranka, Renate; Sainz, Angel; Sormunen, Jani; Sotiraki, Smaragda; Strube, Christina; Stuen, Snorre; Široký, Pavel; Tomassone, Laura; Zintl, Annetta
Publisher: ELSEVIER GMBH
Publishing place: MUNICH
Publication year: 2025
Journal: Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases
Journal name in source: TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES
Journal acronym: TICKS TICK-BORNE DIS
Article number: 102515
Volume: 16
Issue: 4
Number of pages: 14
ISSN: 1877-959X
eISSN: 1877-9603
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2025.102515
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2025.102515
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/499057773
We prepared a digital questionnaire to capture knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) regarding ticks and tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) in 20 languages. The questionnaire was distributed to 21 universities and research institutions in 22 European countries and 9401 valid responses were collected. Most survey participants identified ticks correctly and regarded ticks as a serious health risk. There was also a good level of knowledge regarding tick activity, habitats and the predominant TBPs in the country or region. Moreover, most respondents were familiar with effective tick protection and removal measures. Over 75 % of respondents had been bitten by ticks and up to 12 % of participants had been diagnosed with a tick-borne infection in the past. Respondents from northern and central European countries who reported engaging in outdoor activities more frequently, reported increased frequencies of tick bites and infection with TBPs compared to respondents from southern Europe. Awareness of national information campaigns on ticks and TBPs was also greater among respondents from northern and central European countries than among Mediterranean countries. This study identified knowledge gaps among respondents from some European countries where TBPs have not been prioritised historically. These knowledge gaps should be addressed by reputable bodies to encourage personal protective behaviours without causing alarm and to forestall the spreading of incorrect and unreliable information propagated by some social media sources.
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Funding information in the publication:
AEP was supported under an EU-funded project entitled 'Scaling up One Health vectorborne zoonotic diseases monitoring and surveillance in Spain (SPVECTORSURV)', project No 101132820, call EU4H-2022-DGA-MS-IBA3, funded by the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA). GF was supported by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office (K143622 and RRF-2.3.1-21-2022-00006). SA and AD acknowldege support from GHTM- UID/04413/2020 and LA-REAL- LA/P/0117/2020. The study was carried out within the framework of the COST Action CA21170 ‘Prevention, anticipation and mitigation of tick-borne disease risk applying the DAMA protocol (PRAGMATICK)’. PS was supported by project INTER-COST-LUV (project No LUC23151) Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic.
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
