The Impact of Altitude on Tick-Borne Pathogens at Two Mountain Ranges in Central Slovakia.

Ticks are ectoparasites of a wide range of animals and are important vectors of numerous pathogens affecting humans, livestock, and pets. This study investigates possible correlations between selected factors, altitude, soil pH, and a factor called 'amount' (number of ticks examined in pooled samples) on the occurrence of ticks positive for selected tick-borne microorganisms. Questing ticks were collected in 2016 and 2017 across various altitudes, at two mountain ranges in central Slovakia. Tick pools were screened for the presence of , sensu lato (), / spp., spp., and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) using molecular methods. Regression analysis was employed to evaluate relationships between selected factors and the occurrence of vector-borne microorganisms. This study revealed a statistically significant influence of altitude on the occurrence of ; increasing altitude of the sampling site was associated with increased probability of pathogen occurrence. For / spp., neither altitude nor soil pH significantly affected pathogen occurrence. The occurrence of was notably impacted by both altitude and soil pH; higher altitudes were associated with a decreased probability of pathogen presence, whereas higher soil pH increased the likelihood of pathogen occurrence. The presence of in a pooled sample was not affected by altitude and soil pH, but the 'amount' factor was a significant predictor, increasing the probability of pathogen detection. Neither altitude nor soil pH had a significant impact on TBEV occurrence. The regression models showed moderate goodness-of-fit levels to the data, underscoring their utility in examining the role of altitude and soil pH on pathogen occurrence. However, they explained only a small portion of the overall variance in pathogen occurrence, indicating the presence of other significant factors not covered in this study.