Accepted Poster
Poster Short Abstract
The tool Rapportera Fästing has gathered 28,000 reports since 2023 and enables cost-effective, scalable surveillance of endemic and exotic tick species. AI-based tick recognition will boost accuracy, while public participation strengthens One Health preparedness and awareness of tick-borne diseases.
Poster Abstract
Climate change is reshaping the distribution of ticks across Europe, including Sweden, where exotic tick species are seen more often and cases of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) are on the rise. Traditional field-based surveillance is resource intensive, and therefore the Swedish Veterinary Agency launched ‘Rapportera Fästing’ in 2023, a citizen science tool for nationwide tick monitoring. The tool enables users to report tick encounters, upload images, and submit specimens for further analysis.
Between May 2023 and September 2025, more than 28,000 submissions were received from all Swedish municipalities. Ixodes ricinus (castor bean tick) was the dominant species, but several exotic ticks were also identified, including the first Swedish record of Dermacentor marginatus (Ornate sheep tick). I. ricinus was reported as active year-round, previously only thought to be active from spring to autumn, with records even from northern regions where the species was previously considered rare. Submitted ticks from 2025 will be analysed using molecular methods for species identification and TBE-virus detection, providing a unique link between geographic occurrence and pathogen presence.
Our findings demonstrate that citizen science offers a cost-effective and scalable surveillance system for both endemic and exotic ticks, as well as for TBE-virus monitoring. Ongoing development of AI-based tick recognition is expected to further improve accuracy and strengthen the role of this tool within One Health preparedness strategies. The study also demonstrates that citizen science can serve as an educational tool, increasing the public’s awareness of ticks and tick-borne diseases.
Poster Session