In the second year of the national tick monitoring programme, we received a total of 8,298 ticks from across Austria – almost six times as many as in the first year, 2024.

As in the previous year, most ticks came from Lower Austria (2,900), followed by Upper Austria (1,868), Styria (1,117), Tyrol (901), Carinthia (468), Vorarlberg (451), Vienna (234), Burgenland (201) and Salzburg (158).

The most common tick genus was Ixodes (96%), led by the tick species Ixodes ricinus. Other Ixodes species identified were I. hexagonus, I. acuminatus, I. vespertilionis, I. canisuga and I. frontalis. The latter was confirmed for the first time in Austria through field findings and genetic analysis. The second most common genus was again ticks of the genus Dermacentor (3%). As in the previous year, both D. reticulatus and D. marginatus were found. Other tick species identified were Haemaphysalis concinna and Hyalomma marginatum (‘giant ticks’).

A proportion of the native hard ticks of the genera Ixodes, Dermacentor and Haemaphysalis (n = 3,838) were examined this year, following species identification, not only for the presence of Borrelia but also for other pathogens. Lyme Borrelia, the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis, was the most frequently detected, at 24%. Furthermore, Rickettsia (13%), Spiroplasma ixodetis (10%), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (8%), Neoehrlichia mikurensis (5%), relapsing fever borrelia of the species Borrelia miyamotoi (2%) and Francisella tularensis (in less than 1%) were found.

In 2025, we again received numerous emails reporting suspected sightings of ‘giant ticks’. Following analysis of the attached photos, the presence of ticks of the genus Hyalomma was confirmed in six emails. Seven Hyalomma ticks – five of which were found in Austria – were tested in the laboratory for Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) and rickettsiae. CCHFV was not detected in any of them; however, as was the case last year, these ticks showed a high prevalence of Rickettsia aeschlimannii (3/7, 43%).