Ixodid Ticks in Urbocoenoses of the Cities of Ukraine: Risks for the Population and Measures for the Prevention of Tick-Borne Infections

Objective.Analysis of the information available in scientific sources on the contamination of urban populations of ticks in the settlements of Ukraine with pathogens of infectious diseases; identification of factors contributing to the spread of tick habitats in urban areas, updating the main methods of combating ticks. Materials and methods. Analysis of domestic and foreign scientific works.Results.According to information from scientific sources, Ixodes ricinus ticks are most common in parks, recreation areas, and green areas along pedestrian routes of urban settlements in Ukraine, and Dermacentor reticulatus is less common.These ticks pose a threat to residents, as they can be infected with one or several causative agents of infectious diseases -Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, rickettsiosis, babesiosis, etc. Anthropogenic factors lead to an increase in the urban population of ticks, such as: urban development, improper maintenance of park areas, unauthorized garbage dumps, which become a nursery for mouse-like rodents and stray animals.In order to protect city dwellers from tick-borne infections, it is necessary to destroy ticks and regulate the population of their hosts, arrange parks, squares, adjacent territories, and conduct educational work among the population.An important area of preventive work is the epidemiological and epizootological monitoring of tick-borne infections.Conclusions.Due to anthropogenic influence, disorderly economic activity, populations of ixodid ticks are spreading in the cities of Ukraine, when attacking a person, they can infect him/her with a number of dangerous infectious diseases.The strategy and tactics for the prevention of tick infections should be developed individually for each settlement, taking into account the characteristics of the territory, whether it is enzootic with respect to a particular infection, and the results of a laboratory examination of ixodid ticks collected in recreation areas of the population.