NordTick 2023
In June 2023 our team attended the NordTick conference and final NorthTick meeting in Inverness, Schotland. Mats Van Gestel and Käthe Robert presented their research. Prof. Erik Matthysen presented our progress within the NorthTick project.
TTP10
In August 2022 our team was present at the TTP10 conference. Four members of our team were able to present their research: Mats Van Gestel, dr. Gerardo Fracasso, dr. Dieter Heylen and Käthe Robert.
NordTick conference and NorthTick workshop
In June 2022, Mats Van Gestel, Käthe Robert and Prof. dr Erik Matthysen attended the NordTick conference and NorthTick worhshop in Norway. We had the opportunity to present our research to many other interesting scientists.
One year Teek a Break
On the occasion of the first anniversary of the Teek a Break project, University of Antwerp sent a press release on the 18th of March 2022 with preliminary results and a new call for participation. This resulted in a lot of new media coverage.
First results
The first 671 ticks have been analysed. All collected ticks were morphologically identified according to life stage and species. Nymphs and adult ticks were screened for pathogens by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, one of the other beneficiaries of NorthTick. Preliminary results show how ticks are present in 40% of gardens, with a 23.4% prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. Co-infections occurred in 7.4% of ticks. Ixodes ricinus was the most abundant species, representing 92.4% of all ticks. Ticks are being collected on all vegetation types in garden.
Blog post: Does climate change increase the chance on a tick bite?
Official launch of Teek a Break
On the 21st of March 2021, the citizen science project Teek a Break was officially launched, with a press release on the 18th of March. The launch received local media coverage.
Every citizen living in Flanders (Belgium) and owning a garden can participate. Participants can find all needed information on the project website, including instructional videos and manuals. They are asked to collect ticks in their garden using a self-constructed tick drag. Afterwards, they enter their results on the citizen science platform Mijn Tuinlab and any captured ticks are sent to our lab for further analyses.
New publication: Danger on the track? Tick densities near recreation infrastructures in forests
Is there a relation between green space infrastructure and local density of questing nymphs at within-forest stand scale? Read about it in this publication from Mats Van Gestel, Kris Verheyen, Erik Matthysen and Dieter Heylen in the journal Urban Forestry & Urban Greening.
Launch pilot project Teek a Break
On the 28th of August 2020, the pilot project of 'Teek a Break' was launched. Participants of this pilot project are asked to catch ticks in their garden using a self-constructed tick drag. Afterwards, they enter their results on the website Waarnemingen.be and any captured ticks are sent to our lab for further analyses. The official launch of the 'Teek a Break' project is planned for March of 2021 on Mijn Tuinlab.
sTEEKproef
Prior to 'Teek a Break', a citizen science initiative investigating the presence of ticks in Flemish gardens, a survey called 'sTEEKproef' was conducted. The aim of this survey is assessing the general public’s knowledge about ticks and TBD. The survey ran until the 27th of August and was fully completed by 1476 participants. Results will follow shortly!