TICKGUARD - Gateway surveillance as an early warning system for emerging tick-borne pathogens in Europe

Tick-borne pathogens represent an escalating One Health challenge, often persisting asymptomatically in livestock and wildlife before causing outbreaks in animals or humans. Crete's geographic position-at the intersection of Europe, Asia, and Africa-and its role as a major stopover for migratory birds, particularly on Gavdos Island, makes it a natural entry point for exotic and emerging pathogens into Europe. Targeted surveillance in this high-risk gateway offers a unique early-warning opportunity, enabling the detection of threats before they spread northwards or westwards. This fellowship will develop and validate portable, rapid molecular diagnostics for five priority agents-Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV), tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), Anaplasma spp., Babesia spp., and Theileria spp.-using the Pebble nucleic acid amplification device. Ticks and blood samples from 1,800 sheep and goats and from 1,000 wild and migratory birds, will be analysed using both Pebble-based LAMP assays and laboratory-based qPCR/multiplex PCR, enabling a direct performance comparison. Morphological and molecular identification of ticks will detect invasive species and monitor shifts in local populations, while next-generation sequencing will characterise phylogenetic relationships between tick populations and pathogens from neighbouring regions, with a specific focus on circulating CCHFV genotypes and Hyalomma spp. phylogenomics. These results will be integrated into geospatial prevalence maps, enhancing Europe-wide early-warning systems. By integrating diagnostic innovation, high-risk gateway surveillance, and stakeholder engagement, TICKGUARD will strengthen Europe's capacity for proactive, evidence-based action against transboundary zoonotic threats.