Conclusions
In the course of our research, we examined the occurrence of non-endemicHyalomma ticks in Hungary using the citizen science method. The use of community research was successful in terms of both website traffic and number of submitters. Participants reacted positively, people took the program noticeably seriously. Due to the importance of the topic and the good reception, our goal is to continue the research next spring, so the first years’ experience is also useful for fine-tuning the project. One striking result of our research was that one of the two Hyalomma found was discovered in the only cattle involved in our research. Hyalomma often parasitize large domesticated mammals in their adult stages, as was previously known (S Hornok & Horváth, 2012; Uiterwijk et al., 2021). It would therefore be worthwhile next year for our program to target inspections of establishments affected in this respect. This could be done, for example, by finding journals, online platforms and social media groups for animal husbandry, horse riding, or by looking for farms specializing in these. Data were received from across the country, but most submissions are clearly from the capital or a narrower neighbourhood. In the future, greater emphasis should be placed on rural areas, especially livestock farms, villages and towns. As media presence has proven to be key to our research, in the future we will try to focus on the print and electronic media presence also in rural areas.
In addition, it would be worthwhile to launch a media campaign for the project as early as the end of the winter, ensuring that people take pictures of the ticks already discovered in the spring and send them via mail. This would be important because in such cases, there would probably only be individuals of the potentially overwinteringHyalomma ticks in the country, so such an observation would indicate that the group may be able to form local populations in the future. It is of utmost importance to continue systematic monitoring ofHyalomma ticks in the future. We will analyse these and futureHyalomma specimens for the occurrence of CCHFV and other pathogens to be able to monitor and prepare for the introduction of transboundary and emerging diseases.