Abundance of Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) and the Diversity of Species in Northeastern Poland.

Monitoring the abundance of ticks and the prevalence of pathogens in ticks is an important activity in assessing the risk of tick-borne diseases and helps to develop preventive measures. This study aimed to estimate the density of , the prevalence of species, and their diversity in northeastern Poland. The overall mean density was 9.7 ticks/100 m. There were no differences between years, subregions, or habitats of study. The infection rate was higher in females (22.6%) and males (14.3%) than in nymphs 5.5% (MIR). The most infected ticks came from the eastern subregion (10.1%) where the incidence of borreliosis among the inhabitants was over 20% higher than in the other subregions. In the infected ticks, (38.3%) and (34.5%) were predominant. was confirmed in in Poland for the first time. The most polymorphic was . (belonged to the European type) was identified as a mono-infection in 0.9% of ticks and in 1.5% as a co-infection with and with . Besides the risk of borreliosis and co-infections with different species, physicians should also be aware of infections among patients.