VMU Hosted International Scientific Conference BalTick25

The international scientific conference BalTick25 was held at Vytautas Magnus University on 1–3 October 2025. The aim of the conference was to promote the exchange of scientific knowledge and advanced practices among experts in acarology, veterinary science, medicine, and ecology in order to gain a better understanding of the role of ticks in ecosystems and public health.

At BalTick25, over 50 participants from the Baltic countries, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic took the opportunity to exchange ideas, experiences, and knowledge about ticks in ecosystems, their impact on human and animal health, and the development of effective monitoring, prevention, and control strategies.

Keynote presentations were delivered by: prof. Anna Bajer (Poland) – “The eco-epidemiology of Babesia spp.–tick interaction”, prof. Per-Eric Lindgren (Sweden) – “A One-Health Perspective on Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases: Experience on Transmission Dynamics and Epidemiology from Scandinavia”, prof. Snorre Stuen (Norway) – “Tick-borne diseases in domestic ruminants, with special focus on anaplasmosis”.

The scientific findings presented at the BalTick25 conference are available in the conference abstract book, published in the journal Biologija (ISSN 2029-0578 [online]), Volume 71, Issue 3 (2025).

During the BalTick25 conference, the Scientific Committee selected and awarded the three best oral presentations: “The First Finding of Hyalomma rufipes in Poland in 2024: the Promising Start of a Citizen Science Project” – Wiktoria Romanek, “Quantitative Assessment of Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus Loads Across Hosts and Vectors Using Digital PCR” – Austėja Žilinskaitė, “Host Spectrum Impact on the Genetic Population Structure of Ticks” – Branka Bilbija and as well as the three best poster presentations: “Nymphal Ticks From Wild Birds: Microbiome Differences Linked to Rickettsia Infection” – Agne Namiņa, “Prevalence of Tick-Borne Pathogens in Pet Dogs in Lithuania” – Karolina Jankauskaitė, “Impaired Regulatory Immune Response in Dogs with Babesiosis” – Marta Maruszewska-Cheruiyot.

The participants of the BalTick25 conference visited the Tadas Ivanauskas Zoological Museum in Kaunas – one of the oldest museums in Lithuania. The museum exhibits around 19,000 specimens of various animals from Lithuania and other regions of the world. During the guided tour, participants learned about the most remarkable exhibits and the stories of how they became part of the museum’s collection.

We sincerely thank our sponsors: Vytautas Magnus University Institute of Science and Technology, Genomika Ltd., Armota Ltd., Arm Gate Ltd., the Lithuanian Green Alliance, and the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences.