The viral tick talks: how vectors and wildlife shape Kyasanur forest disease ecology.

Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD) is a tick-borne zoonotic disease in India that causes fatal hemorrhagic fever in humans. Despite its complex network of hosts and vectors, the interspecific interactions shaping its disease ecology remain underexplored. We aimed to identify these interactions and pathways aiding disease spread within connected landscapes and across geographic barriers. Through a systematic review and meta-analysis, we mapped KFD locations, vectors' feeding niches, and disease hosts. We found 53 KFD associated species from Western Ghats (active disease location) and 27 potentially associated species from Andaman and Nicobar Islands (KFD seroprevalence location). Each tick's host ranges revealed unique interactions and potential transmission patterns among host animals. We challenge the current notion of KFD as an endemic primate disease, since primates are absent in the majority of the islands of Andaman and Nicobar with seroprevalence. Here, small mammals could be local hosts, while birds may act as potential dispersers across geographic barriers.