Assessment of human health risks to tick-borne infections in urban green spaces (UGS) - a study protocol.

BACKGROUND

As the world becomes increasingly urbanised, with projections of about two-thirds of a burgeoning population living in urban areas by 2050, several governments are continuously making efforts to create, maintain, and expand urban green spaces and enhance their ecological connectivity. However, the advantages of these green infrastructures are weighed down by their risk of higher human exposure to wildlife, zoonotic diseases, and wildlife-associated ectoparasites, leading to spillage of vector-borne illnesses. METHODS/

DESIGN

The research study aims to examine the risk of acquiring tick-borne infections in various urban green spaces. The study aims to examine the impact of landscape features, habitat types, and host communities on the presence, abundance, and distribution patterns of ticks and tick-borne pathogens in cities’ green spaces. Simultaneously, it aims to assess the health risks due of tick-bites arising from human interaction within green spaces. Ticks will be collected from March to October in 2024 and 2025 through the flagging/dragging method at eleven green spaces in Germany’s Bonn and Cologne regions. Tick specimens will be examined for tick-borne pathogens. Simultaneously, an In-field survey will be conducted in these green spaces to assess green space users’ knowledge, attitude and practice behaviours concerning ticks and tick-borne pathogens. DISCUSSION: Our research study will assess the suitability of urban green spaces with varying host communities, landscape composition and connectivity scales for sustaining tick populations and potentially transmitting tick-borne pathogens to humans. We aim to quantify the risk of acquiring tick-borne infection in urban green spaces and formulate recommendations for designing and managing green infrastructures to reduce the transmission of tick-borne pathogens to humans. STUDY REGISTRATION: Clinical trial number: not applicable.