gms | German Medical Science

Introduction: The benefits of the urban green infrastructure (GI), also referred to as ecosystem services (ES), have been extensively studied in recent years and are frequently integrated into urban planning. Considerably less investigated are the potential ecosystem disservices (ED) of urban GI: harmful, unpleasant or undesirable impacts on human health or well-being. However, for sustainable planning of GI in a municipal setting, it is crucial to consider not only ES but also ED. Here, we present the interim results of an ongoing literature review of the association of different characteristics of urban and peri-urban GI with tick or nymphal density and/or with the prevalence of infected ticks.

Methods: We identified 487 articles in the PubMed database, using a combination of MeSH terms and keywords (title and abstract search), and restricting to a publication date from 2014 onwards. Screening was conducted by two researchers, and a consensus decision was reached in discrepant cases. Title and abstract screening yielded 88 articles, of which 52 were selected for full-text screening. Of them, 22 primary studies investigating the association of different characteristics of urban and peri-urban green infrastructure with tick or nymphal density and/or prevalence of infected ticks, focusing on tick species relevant to Germany (I. Ricinus, I. inopinatus, D. reticulatus, H. concinna), were included in this analysis. Study selection and results extraction were carried out manually, with ChatGPT3.5 utilized to facilitate the preliminary summary of the results.

Results in progress: Urban and peri-urban GI settings can serve as active biotopes for Borrelia transmission cycles. Urban green spaces, characterized by high human activity, pose potential infection foci. While rural areas with large natural habitats exhibited higher tick abundance, ticks were also frequently found in parks and gardens in highly urbanized regions. Wooded habitats, including those undergoing reforestation efforts and those with high animal biodiversity, demonstrated higher tick densities and pathogen prevalence compared to parks. Urban areas showed higher prevalence of certain tick pathogens (e.g., Rickettsiales). Bird reservoir hosts played an important role in urban tick feeding and infection. In addition, seasonal trends and correlation with climatic variables such as humidity were observed for tick and nymphal abundance and activity.

Conclusions: These preliminary findings emphasize the need for management strategies to mitigate the risk of tick-borne diseases in urban and peri-urban GI settings.

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

The authors declare that an ethics committee vote is not required.