On April 17th and 29th our researchers Sofía and Ariane had two field days in the areas around Amberg and Schwandorf, one of Germany’s most well-known TBE (tick-borne encephalitis) risk regions. They joined Prof. Dr. Gerhard Dobler and Dr. Lidia Chitimia-Dobler from the Institute for Microbiology of the German Armed Forces (IMB) in Munich, two of Germany’s leading experts in ticks and TBE.
Out in the field, they visited known TBE hotspots and learned a great deal about what drives virus occurrence in a given area, from habitat structure and host animal populations to microclimate and seasonal tick activity. The presence of TBE is shaped by a complex interplay of ecological factors, and high tick numbers don’t necessarily mean high infection risk.
These field visits were a valuable step for the MONID-HABITRACK project, funded by the BMFTR, which aims to develop predictive models for TBE and Lyme disease using drone imagery and machine learning. The insights gained will directly inform our upcoming data collection, helping us identify the right parameters to capture in the field.
Many thanks to Gerhard and Lidia for sharing their expertise.
