BROWSE & EXPLORE DATA
Species Data
Access: detailed species records including taxonomy, host associations, distribution, identification keys, sampling conditions, control strategies, and pathogen data.
Distribution Maps
Access: interactive distribution maps, geospatial occurrence records, and downloadable datasets for species-level analysis.
Acaricides & Resistance
Access: chemical profiles and curated resistance data for major acaricides, including documented resistance patterns across species and locations.
Protein Data
Access: interactive information on tick-associated proteins, PDB IDs, protein GO function terms, sublocalization, and other details.
OVERVIEW

Ticks are among the most important vectors in the One Health framework, bridging wildlife, livestock, and human populations while transmitting a wide range of zoonotic pathogens. In India, tick-borne diseases including Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD), Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), and Q Fever pose serious public health and veterinary challenges. Despite their significance, the true burden of these diseases remains underestimated, largely due to fragmented surveillance systems and the absence of consolidated spatial data on tick species distributions across the country.

TickMapKB was developed to address this gap through systematic screening and curation of published literature, producing the first spatially-explicit, comprehensive knowledgebase of tick species in India.

TickMapKB Home Image

The knowledgebase is organized into three primary modules:

  • Species Data: Biological and ecological information on over 70 tick species documented across more than 600 georeferenced locations spanning India, including associated host organisms, sampling methods, over 50 tick-borne diseases with their causative pathogens and clinical symptoms, and morphological identification keys.
  • Protein Data: Proteome-level annotations for tick species with documented genomic data, sourced from UniProt. Includes subcellular localization, Gene Ontology (GO) terms for biological process and molecular function, keyword classifications, and links to protein structures in the Protein Data Bank (PDB).
  • Chemicals: Acaricide resistance profiles across geographic locations for commonly used compounds.
  • Species Distribution Maps: Species-level spatial distribution maps to support surveillance planning and disease risk assessment across India.

The first version of the database was released in June 2026.

STATISTICS & FEATURES
72
Tick species covered
647
Georeferenced tick occurrence locations
122
Acaricides with usage info
53
Associated pathogens of humans & animals
3443
Tick-associated proteins
Data Coverage
Host organism metadata, sampling context, identification methods, and environmental conditions associated with each record.
Species Identification
Morphological keys curated for species-level identification to support field and laboratory workflows.
Acaricide Resistance
Structured acaricide resistance profiles across species and geographies for surveillance and control strategy design.
Interoperability
Linked identifiers across NCBI Taxonomy and GBIF, with sequence integration from NCBI and BOLD, chemical entities mapped to PubChem and CAS, and proteins mapped to UniProt.
CITATION
If you use our resource, please cite the following research article:

S. R. Madgaonkar, S. Vashishth, E. Ayyanar, S. Srirama, & A. Samal*, TickMapKB: A FAIR knowledgebase of ticks and associated pathogens for India, bioRxiv, 2026.06.22.733803 (2026).

DISCLAIMER

TickMapKB is a database of tick species, their distribution, and associated data, compiled from published literature and publicly available sources. The authors are not liable for any inaccuracies or omissions in this resource. This database is intended to support research on tick ecology and distribution and does not necessarily reflect the views or objectives of the authors’ affiliated institutions or funders.