Tick-Borne Diseases in Turkey: A Review Based on One Health Perspective

The importance of tick-borne diseases is increasing all over the world, including Turkey. Global warming, environmental and ecological changes and the existence of suitable habitats increase the impact of ticks and result in frequent emergence or re-emergence of tick-borne diseases (TBDs) with zoonotic characteristics. In Turkey, almost 19 TBDs have been reported in animals and men, involving four protozoa (babesiosis, theileriosis, cytauxzoonosis, hepatozoonosis), one filarial nematode (acanthocheilonemasis), ten bacterial agents (anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, aegyptianellosis, tick-borne typhus, Candidatus Rickettsia vini, Lyme borreliosis, tick-borne relapsing fever [TBRF], tularaemia, bartonellosis, and hemoplasmosis), and four viral infections (tick-borne encephalitis [TBE], Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever [CCHF], louping-ill [LI], and lumpy skin disease [LSD]). The growing number of TBD cases, in particular the fatal viral epidemics in humans, have led to increased public awareness and concern against TBDs in recent years. The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed a new political concept, called the “One Health” initiative, which is especially relevant for developing strategies against tick infestations and TBD control in humans and animals. It would be beneficial for Turkey to adopt this new strategy and establish specific research and control programs in coordination with international organizations like WHO, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) to combat TBDs based on the “One Health Initiative” concept. In this article, we review the occurrence of primary TBDs in man and animals in Turkey in light of the “One Health” perspective.