Tick and TBE Project

It is currently tick peak season again! As new species and consequently new pathogens are now appearing in our country due to factors such as climate change and travelling, good early monitoring and appropriate preparation are essential! For this reason, the Institute of Virology at the Medical University of Innsbruck is currently collecting ticks at known “hotspots” and analysing them for their pathogens. The focus is primarily on TBE viruses and their frequency and distribution in regional ticks.

In order to find out exactly where people and ticks are most likely to encounter each other, we have created a form that gives everyone the opportunity to report tick findings and thus make an important contribution to our current research project. The form collects the following information:

• Date
• best possible indication of the location
• host (human, dog, …)
• number of ticks
• photo of the tick (if possible)
• as well as a comment field for additional information (e.g. activity, weather, other special features).

If you would also like to make the ticks you find available for research, you can send them to AGES. You can find more information on this on the AGES homepage. The submission of ticks to AGES is independent of the form described here. You can therefore also complete this form without submitting the ticks afterwards.

If you already know of places that are conspicuously rich in ticks, please let us know so that we can search there specifically for ticks and possible pathogens. Please also contact us if you have any questions or feedback. Thank you for your co-operation!