Institute of Zoology SAS
Topic
Small rodents and hedgehogs as reservoirs of tick-borne pathogens in different habitat types of Slovakia
PhD. program
Zoology
Year of admission
2025
Name of the supervisor
MVDr. Yuliya Didyk, PhD.
Contact:
Receiving school
Univerzita Komenského v Bratislave
Annotation
Many diseases transmitted from animals to humans originate from wildlife. Various wild or domestic animals can act as potential spreaders of dangerous pathogens. The most important are wild and synanthropic small mammals, which are reservoirs of various pathogens and parasites, and thus pose a significant threat to human health. Small rodents and hedgehogs contribute to the spread of medically and veterinary-significant viral, bacterial pathogens and protozoa in a variety of environments, from nature reserves to densely populated urban areas. This study will be conducted in natural (protected), rural and urban areas. Different species of small rodents and hedgehogs will be studied, which, in association with ticks and tick-borne pathogens, represent systems of high priority for public health. The work will be devoted to the analysis of new data on the distribution and prevalence of tick-borne pathogens in small rodents and hedgehogs in natural, rural and urban areas. The new knowledge obtained in the proposed study is expected to clarify the influence of the ecology of hosts and vectors, as well as the natural and urban environment, on the circulation, spread and persistence of pathogens in the environment, as well as the potential danger of their transmission to humans. The results of this study will help test hypotheses about the specificity of different host types for medically and veterinary important tick species and the pathogens they transmit in the immediate vicinity of humans.