TABLE 1.
Characteristics of the three data sources with respect to Ixodes ricinus occurrence and infection by Chlamydiales bacteriaa
| Parameter | Swiss Army field campaign | “Tick Prevention” app ticks recorded | “Tick Prevention” app ticks sent for analysis | Authors' prospective campaign |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Observation/sampling dates | 21 April 2009–13 July 2009 | 09 March 2015–30 Oct 2019 | 04 April 2017–07 April 2019 | 11 May 2018–24 June 2018 |
| No. of sites | 172 | 5,781 | 506 | 95 |
| No. of individual ticks | 62,889 | 5,781 | 554 | 256 |
| No. of adults | 20,313 | - | 58 | 114 |
| No. of nymphs | 42,576 | - | 444 | 142 |
| No. of larvae | 0 | - | 50 | 0 |
| No. of pools | 8,534 | / | / | / |
| No. of ticks/pools infected | 543 | - | 21 | 72 |
| Infection rate in ticks/pools (%) | 6.34 | - | 3.79 | 28.13 |
| No. of sites infected | 118 | - | 19 | 51 |
| Infection rate in sites (%) | 68.6 | - | 3.75 | 53.68 |
The data obtained via the Tick Prevention app are divided into two data sets (columns 3 and 4). The first data set (column 3) corresponds to tick locations recorded on the app and includes a majority of ticks for which no information regarding Chlamydiales bacteria was available. This data set was used in the modeling of the distribution of Ixodes ricinus only. The second data set (column 4, which represents a subset of the data set in column 3) contains some ticks that were sent for the laboratory analysis of Chlamydiales. This data set was therefore used in the modeling of Chlamydiales distribution. Data from the two other sources (columns 2 and 5) were used both for the modeling of I. ricinus and Chlamydiales. -, no information; /, not applicable.