Tick Infestation Among Stray Dogs of Urban Chișinău, Moldova: Species Distribution and Pathogen Detection

We investigated tick infestations in stray dogs from Chișinău, the capital of the Republic of Moldova, focusing on tick species distribution, and pathogen infection rates. Ticks were collected from 232 stray dogs across six major urban parks in 2021-2022. A total of 443 ticks were collected, belonging to five species: <i>Ixodes ricinus</i> (43.8%), <i>Dermacentor reticulatus</i> (35.2%), <i>Dermacentor marginatus</i> (20.5%), <i>Rhipicephalus sanguineus</i> s.l. and <i>Haemaphysalis punctata</i> with only 1 specimen. Notably, 92.5% of ticks were adults, while only 7% were nymphs and <1% were larvae. On average, 44.4% of stray dogs were infested with ticks, with an overall mean intensity of ~4.3 ticks per infested dog. Tick burden varied by location: dogs in large, less-maintained parks carried the most ticks. Tick pathogen screening revealed 24.4% of ticks (108/443) carried at least one pathogen. The most frequently detected were <i>Babesia</i> spp. in 12.2% of ticks, <i>Borrelia burgdorferi</i> s.l. in 7.4%, <i>Rickettsia</i> spp. in 3.4%, <i>Anaplasma</i> spp. in 2.5%, and <i>Ehrlichia</i> spp. in 0.5%; 4 ticks harbored co-infections. We discuss implications for public health and animal welfare and recommend control measures such as integrated stray-dog management and vegetation maintenance in urban parks.