Dr Joanna Hildebrand from the Institute of Genetics and Microbiology of the University of Wrocław received a grant from the Miniatura program of the National Science Center for the project “Invasive species as hosts of pathogens transmitted by ticks and <dilution effect>”.

Thanks to the subsidy, Dr Hildebrand will examine the role of invasive species – the raccoon and Asian raccoon in the epidemiology of tick-borne diseases. Pathogens transmitted to the human body and animals through tick bites cause Lyme disease, babesiosis, anaplasmosis and rickettsiosis.

One of the results of research on factors influencing the spread of pathogens is the hypothesis called the “dilution effect” – the incidence of pathogens in the biotope decreases with the increase in the number of animal species that are hosts of ticks and also the reservoir of microorganisms. In this light, a question arises about the assessment of the role of invasive species in the pathogen-vector-host system.