# Topics and Trends in Most Cited Vector-borne infectious diseases Papers, Class of 2026

*Canonical URL: https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/vector-borne-infectious-diseases/2026*

## What topics and trends defined most-cited Vector-borne infectious diseases research in the Class of 2026?

Research in vector-borne infectious diseases is transitioning from broad Lyme disease surveillance toward spatial epidemiology and multi-pathogen risk assessment. Species distribution modeling and tick-borne encephalitis saw substantial gains in top-cited literature, alongside rising focus on vector ticks like Ixodes ricinus and emerging hemotropic pathogens.

## At a glance

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Field | Vector-borne infectious diseases |
| Cohort label | Class of 2026 (2024 publications) |
| Papers analyzed | 4,259 |
| Papers ranked | 20 |
| Top topics in ranked papers | Lyme disease, Ixodes ricinus, Borrelia burgdorferi, species distribution modeling, tick-borne encephalitis |
| Publication window | Jan 1, 2024 – Dec 31, 2024 |
| Eligibility | Research articles; reviews excluded |
| Citation window | 18 months post-publication |
| 18m citation range | 18–65 |
| Data source | OpenAlex · Retrieved Jul 2026 |
| License | CC BY 4.0 |

## Rankings

| Rank | Title | Authors | Corresponding authors | Affiliation | Journal | 18m citations | DOI |
| ---: | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---: | --- |
| 1 | The Rhipicephalus sanguineus group: updated list of species, geographical distribution, and vector competence | Filipe Dantas-Torres, Lucas C de Sousa-Paula, Domenico Otranto | Filipe Dantas‐Torres | Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Brazil | Parasites & Vectors | 65 | 10.1186/s13071-024-06572-3 |
| 2 | Surveillance for Lyme Disease After Implementation of a Revised Case Definition — United States, 2022 | Kiersten J Kugeler, Austin Earley, Paul S Mead, Alison F Hinckley | Kiersten J. Kugeler | CDC, United States | MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report | 42 | 10.15585/mmwr.mm7306a1 |
| 3 | Autoantibodies neutralizing type I IFNs underlie severe tick-borne encephalitis in ∼10% of patients | Adrian Gervais, Astrid Marchal, Andrea Fortova, Michaela Berankova, Lenka Krbkova, Martina Pychova, Jiri Salat, Shuxiang Zhao, Nacim Kerrouche, Tom Le Voyer, Karin Stiasny, Simon Raffl, Anne Schieber Pachart, Samira Fafi-Kremer, Simon Gravier, Davide F Robbiani, Laurent Abel, Margaret R MacDonald, Charles M Rice, Gaia Weissmann, Tarek Kamal Eldin, Eva Robatscher, Elke Maria Erne, Elisabetta Pagani, Alessandro Borghesi, Anne Puel, Paul Bastard, Aurélie Velay, Martin Martinot, Yves Hansmann, Judith H Aberle, Daniel Ruzek, Aurélie Cobat, Shen-Ying Zhang, Jean-Laurent Casanova | Astrid Marchal, Andrea Fortova, Michaela Berankova, Alessandro Borghesi, Anne Puel, Paul Bastard, Aurélie Velay, Martin Martinot, Yves Hansmann, Judith H Aberle, Daniel Ruzek, Aurélie Cobat, Shen-Ying Zhang, Jean-Laurent Casanova | Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), France | The Journal of Experimental Medicine | 28 | 10.1084/jem.20240637 |
| 4 | Role of vector phenotypic plasticity in disease transmission as illustrated by the spread of dengue virus by Aedes albopictus | Dominic P Brass, Christina A Cobbold, Bethan V Purse, David A Ewing, Amanda Callaghan, Steven M White | Dominic P. Brass | UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, United Kingdom | Nature Communications | 27 | 10.1038/s41467-024-52144-5 |
| 5 | Tafenoquine-Atovaquone Combination Achieves Radical Cure and Confers Sterile Immunity in Experimental Models of Human Babesiosis | Pratap Vydyam, Anasuya C Pal, Isaline Renard, Meenal Chand, Vandana Kumari, Joseph C Gennaro, Choukri Ben Mamoun | Choukri Ben Mamoun | Yale University, United States | The Journal of Infectious Diseases | 25 | 10.1093/infdis/jiad315 |
| 6 | The roles of habitat isolation, landscape connectivity and host community in tick-borne pathogen ecology | Grace Shaw, Marie Lilly, Vincent Mai, Jacoby Clark, Shannon Summers, Kimetha Slater, Sandor Karpathy, Angie Nakano, Arielle Crews, Alexandra Lawrence, Jordan Salomon, Samantha Brianne Sambado, Andrea Swei | Andrea Swei | San Francisco State University, United States | Royal Society Open Science | 25 | 10.1098/rsos.240837 |
| 7 | A series of patients infected with the emerging tick-borne Yezo virus in China: an active surveillance and genomic analysis | Ming-Zhu Zhang, Cai Bian, Run-Ze Ye, Xiao-Ming Cui, Nan-Nan Yao, Ji-Hu Yang, Yan-Li Chu, Xiao-Ling Su, Ya-Fei Wu, Jin-Ling Ye, Shun-Shuai Liu, Xiao-Yu Shi, Wenqiang Shi, Na Jia, Yu-Guo Chen, Lin Zhao, Yuan-Chun Zheng, Xiao-Min Zheng, Jia-Fu Jiang, Wu-Chun Cao | Wu‐Chun Cao | Shandong University, China | The Lancet Infectious Diseases | 24 | 10.1016/s1473-3099(24)00616-9 |
| 8 | Rapid single-tier serodiagnosis of Lyme disease | Rajesh Ghosh, Hyou-Arm Joung, Artem Goncharov, Barath Palanisamy, Kevin Ngo, Katarina Pejcinovic, Nicole Krockenberger, Elizabeth J Horn, Omai B Garner, Ezdehar Ghazal, Andrew O'Kula, Paul M Arnaboldi, Raymond J Dattwyler, Aydogan Ozcan, Dino Di Carlo | Aydogan Özcan, Dino Di Carlo | University of California, Los Angeles, United States | Nature Communications | 23 | 10.1038/s41467-024-51067-5 |
| 9 | Molecular Epidemiology of Western Equine Encephalitis Virus, South America, 2023–2024 | Aline Scarpellini Campos, Ana Claúdia Franco, Fernanda M Godinho, Rosana Huff, Darlan S Candido, Jader da Cruz Cardoso, Xinyi Hua, Ingra M Claro, Paola Morais, Carolina Franceschina, Thales de Lima Bermann, Franciellen Machado Dos Santos, Milena Bauermann, Tainá Machado Selayaran, Amanda Pellenz Ruivo, Cristiane Santin, Juciane Bonella, Carla Rodenbusch, José Carlos Ferreira, Scott C Weaver, Vilar Ricardo Gewehr, Gabriel Luz Wallau, William M de Souza, Richard Steiner Salvato | Aline Scarpellini Campos | State Health Secretariat of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil | Emerging infectious diseases | 23 | 10.3201/eid3009.240530 |
| 10 | Optimisation of dose level and vaccination schedule for the VLA15 Lyme borreliosis vaccine candidate among healthy adults: two randomised, observer-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre, phase 2 studies | Nicole Bézay, Laura Wagner, Vera Kadlecek, Michaela Obersriebnig, Nina Wressnigg, Romana Hochreiter, Martina Schneider, Katrin Dubischar, Ulla Derhaschnig, Anton Klingler, Julian Larcher-Senn, Susanne Eder-Lingelbach, Wolfgang Bender | Susanne Eder-Lingelbach | Valneva Austria, Austria | The Lancet Infectious Diseases | 22 | 10.1016/s1473-3099(24)00175-0 |
| 11 | MOIRE: a software package for the estimation of allele frequencies and effective multiplicity of infection from polyallelic data | Maxwell Murphy, Bryan Greenhouse | Maxwell Murphy | University of California, Berkeley, United States | Bioinformatics | 22 | 10.1093/bioinformatics/btae619 |
| 12 | Nature’s defense against emerging neurodegenerative threats: Dynamic simulation, PCA, DCCM identified potential plant-based antiviral lead targeting borna disease virus nucleoprotein | Noimul Hasan Siddiquee, Md Ifteker Hossain, Farhana Mansoor Priya, Sakia Binte Azam, Md Enamul Kabir Talukder, Durjoy Barua, Salina Malek, Niloy Saha, Sidratul Muntaha, Ridoy Paul, Israt Jahan Ritu, Farjana Islam Tuly, Abir Hossain | Noimul Hasan Siddiquee, Md. Ifteker Hossain, Farhana Mansoor Priya, Saira Azam, Md. Enamul Kabir Talukder, Dipta Barua, Salina Malek, Niloy Saha, Sidra Tul Muntaha, R. Walker Paul, Israt Jahan Ritu, Farjana Islam Tuly, Abir Hossain | Noakhali Science and Technology University, Bangladesh | PLoS ONE | 22 | 10.1371/journal.pone.0310802 |
| 13 | Neuroinvasive West Nile Virus Infection in Immunosuppressed and Immunocompetent Adults | Amir A Mbonde, David Gritsch, Ehab Y Harahsheh, Sabirah N Kasule, Shemonti Hasan, Angela M Parsons, Nan Zhang, Richard Butterfield, Harn Shiue, Kathryn A Norville, Jenna L Reynolds, Holenarasipur R Vikram, Brian Chong, Marie F Grill | Marie Grill | Mayo Clinic, United States | JAMA Network Open | 21 | 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.4294 |
| 14 | Multiple factors affecting Ixodes ricinus ticks and associated pathogens in European temperate ecosystems (northeastern France) | Nathalie Boulanger, Delphine Aran, Armand Maul, Baba Issa Camara, Cathy Barthel, Marie Zaffino, Marie-Claire Lett, Annick Schnitzler, Pascale Bauda | Nathalie Boulanger, Pascale Bauda | Université de Strasbourg, France | Scientific Reports | 21 | 10.1038/s41598-024-59867-x |
| 15 | Characterisation of a Japanese Encephalitis virus genotype 4 isolate from the 2022 Australian outbreak | Wilson Nguyen, Narayan Gyawali, Romal Stewart, Bing Tang, Abigail L Cox, Kexin Yan, Thibaut Larcher, Cameron R Bishop, Nicholas Wood, Gregor J Devine, Andreas Suhrbier, Daniel J Rawle | Daniel J. Rawle | QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Australia | npj Viruses | 20 | 10.1038/s44298-024-00025-5 |
| 16 | The global distribution and the risk prediction of relapsing fever group Borrelia: a data review with modelling analysis | Tian Tang, Ying Zhu, Yuan-Yuan Zhang, Jin-Jin Chen, Jian-Bo Tian, Qiang Xu, Bao-Gui Jiang, Guo-Lin Wang, Nick Golding, Max L Mehlman, Chen-Long Lv, Simon I Hay, Li-Qun Fang, Wei Liu | Li‐Qun Fang, Wei Liu | Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, China | The Lancet Microbe | 19 | 10.1016/s2666-5247(23)00396-8 |
| 17 | Discovery and characterization of potent broadly neutralizing antibodies from human survivors of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome | Shuo Zhang, Hang Shang, Shuo Han, Jiachen Li, Xuefang Peng, Yongxiang Wu, Xin Yang, Yu Leng, Fengze Wang, Ning Cui, Lingjie Xu, Hongkai Zhang, Yu Guo, Xiaoyu Xu, Nan Zhang, Wei Liu, Hao Li | Xiaoyu Xu, Nan Zhang, Wei Liu, Hao Li | Academy of Military Medical Sciences, China | EBioMedicine | 19 | 10.1016/j.ebiom.2024.105481 |
| 18 | Plasmodium falciparum infection in humans and mosquitoes influence natural Anopheline biting behavior and transmission | Christine F Markwalter, Zena Lapp, Lucy Abel, Emmah Kimachas, Evans Omollo, Elizabeth Freedman, Tabitha Chepkwony, Mark Amunga, Tyler McCormick, Sophie Bérubé, Judith N Mangeni, Amy Wesolowski, Andrew A Obala, Steve M Taylor, Wendy Prudhomme O'Meara | Steve M. Taylor, Wendy Prudhomme O’Meara | Duke University, United States | Nature Communications | 18 | 10.1038/s41467-024-49080-9 |
| 19 | Machine learning algorithms for the evaluation of risk by tick-borne pathogens in Europe | Agustín Estrada-Peña, José de la Fuente | Agustín Estrada‐Peña | University of Zaragoza, Spain | Annals of Medicine | 18 | 10.1080/07853890.2024.2405074 |
| 20 | Molecular and immunological studies on Theileria equi and its vector in Egypt | Reem M Ramadan, Noha Madbouly Taha, Hend M Auda, Eslam M Elsamman, Mohamed M El-Bahy, Mai A Salem | Reem M. Ramadan | Cairo University, Egypt | Experimental and Applied Acarology | 18 | 10.1007/s10493-024-00933-4 |

## Topic trends

### What Topics Define the Class of 2026?

The Class of 2026 ranking for vector-borne infectious diseases highlights a heavily concentrated research ecosystem centered on tick-borne pathogen transmission, vector ecology, and spatial epidemiology. Lyme disease remains the focal clinical narrative, appearing in 14% of top-cited publications, closely paired with its primary etiological agent Borrelia burgdorferi (8%) and related Borrelia species. Vector biology research is overwhelmingly anchor-driven by Ixodes ricinus (10%), the principal hard tick vector in Europe, alongside expanding investigation into Rhipicephalus sanguineus (6%), reflecting heightened interest in canine and human vector-host dynamics.

Beyond classical spirochete surveillance, the field demonstrates a pronounced shift toward predictive ecology and multi-pathogen profiling. Species distribution modeling (8%) emerges as a core computational tool, enabling researchers to map vector habitat suitability and climate-driven range shifts. Concurrently, viral and parasitic co-infections command significant attention, led by tick-borne encephalitis (8%), the intraerythrocytic parasite Babesia microti (6%), and emerging hemoplasmas (6%). Together, these dominant clusters underscore an integrated One Health paradigm that bridges molecular diagnostics, ecological forecasting, and vector management to mitigate rising tick-borne disease burdens globally.

*Leading research themes*

### How Did Topics Shift from the Class of 2025 to the Class of 2026?

Comparison between the Class of 2025 and Class of 2026 cohorts reveals a marked evolution from descriptive Lyme disease reporting toward quantitative vector dynamics and emerging viral/bacterial co-pathogens. While Lyme disease (declining from 22% to 14% normalized frequency) and Borrelia burgdorferi (dropping from 20% to 8%) previously dominated the top-cited literature, the 2026 cohort reflects a rebalancing of research priorities toward a broader spectrum of tick-borne threats and analytical methodologies.

The most prominent growth is led by tick-borne encephalitis, which experienced a four-fold rise in high-impact literature representation (2% to 8%), alongside a three-fold increase for Rhipicephalus sanguineus (2% to 6%). Species distribution modeling doubled in frequency (4% to 8%), highlighting growing reliance on geospatial modeling to predict vector proliferation. Furthermore, novel detection of hemoplasmas (rising from 0% to 6%) and emerging pathogens such as severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV), Ehrlichia canis, and Haemaphysalis longicornis underscores an expanding surveillance frontier. Conversely, broad observational concepts like general geographic range expansion experienced relative decline. This trajectory signals a field maturing from generalized risk awareness to precise, model-driven risk prediction and targeted pathogen intervention.

*How topics shifted year over year*

## Cite this ranking

```
Pepkio Research Index (PRI). Topics and Trends in Most Cited Vector-borne infectious diseases Papers, Class of 2026. https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/vector-borne-infectious-diseases/2026. Accessed 2026-07-31.

Zheng Su, Tinsley Li, Thematic Shifts in Early-High-Impact Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics Research: A Bibliometric and Semantic Analysis. bioRxiv 2026.07.04.736459; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.04.736459
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