Year-round threat: 2026 Pet Parasite Forecast shows rising tick risk
New university findings highlight potential implications for dogs, one health, and veterinary practice.
The team builds the forecasts using veterinary diagnostic data, including over 10 million diagnostic test results annually, a historical diagnostic database reaching back to 2012 and environmental variables like temperature and precipitation.
Auburn University parasitologist Dr.
Kathryn Reif is well acquainted with ticks and the many misconceptions that can leave pets and their humans unprotected from a growing, year-round threat.
For starters, ticks don’t disappear in the winter.
Many species remain active as long as temperatures are above freezing.
They’re also just as likely to show up in backyards as in forests or tall grass.
While it may be tough to predict when and where ticks may appear, the Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC) has developed the Pet Parasite Forecasts to help veterinarians and pet owners assess the local disease risk.
The annual forecasts are developed by parasitologists, clinicians, data modelers and other experts in the realm of one health who strive to increase awareness of the threat parasites present to pets and their families.
Together, these help project where pets will be at the highest risk for vector-borne diseases transmitted by pests such as ticks, fleas and mosquitos.
Those projections are displayed using interactive heat maps that show the prevalence of diseases like canine Lyme, ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis and heartworm disease.
The forecasts drill down to the county level and are around 94% accurate year over year.
The report adds to ongoing university-led research relevant to veterinary medicine, animal health, and clinical decision-making.
Source university website: Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine
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