The vector-borne transmitted Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus causes a lethal haemorrhagic disease in humans. This virus seems to be endemic in the Iberian peninsula infecting wildlife in hotspots where the risk of exposure is high. In this work, our WE&H-SEFaS members in collaboration with members of 16 research institutions have statistically modelled the exposure risk of 90 wild boar populations to the virus. The most relevant predictors of virus exposure risk were wild boar abundance, local rainfall regime, shrub cover, winter air temperature and soil temperature variation. The spatial projection of the best-fit model identified high-risk foci as occurring in most of western and southwestern Iberia and identified recently confirmed risk foci in eastern Spain.

This research, recently issued in Ticks and Tick-borne Dieases, has been carried out in collaboration with our colleagues from IREC (Spain). More information here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877959X23001620?via%3Dihub