Potential risk in public parks: Investigation of the tick species (Acari: Ixodida) in Bursa metropolitan area, Turkey

Ticks feed on a wide variety of mammals, birds, reptiles, and even amphibians. The majority of ticks choose specific animal species that are of no medical or veterinary importance for feeding, while others grasp a wide range of hosts, such as pet-breeding animals or humans. They can also transmit many human and animal pathogens include viruses, bacteria, rickettsia and protozoa in Turkey. This study was carried out to detect the distribution of ticks in public parks in six districts (Osmangazi, Yıldırım, Nilüfer, Gürsu, Kestel, Mudanya) of Bursa Metropolitan Municipality area (city centre) in Turkey, between May 2016 and May 2018. A total of 6186 ticks were collected with flagging or CO2 trapping method from the public parks. The collected ticks were kept in 70% alcohol and then were identified under a stereomicroscope. Seven hard or soft tick species according to five genera were identified as Rhipicephalus sanguineus, R. turanicus, Hyalomma marginatum, H. aegyptium, Dermacentor marginatus, Ixodes ricinus and Argas persicus. Among them, R. sanguineus was the most abundant (59.79%) tick in the public parks. Ixodes ricinus increased significantly primarily in the forest areas. This is the first record of tick species in public parks in Turkey and these results may give us an acute insight into the prevalence of tick-borne infections in pets and humans.