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A change already noted in the past 20 years has been the increase in distribution area in the Eastern Cape, which now includes a larger inland area. It has been postulated that climate change has brought about a change in the distribution of\n                    <jats:italic>A. hebraeum<\/jats:italic>\n                    and subsequently, its potential tick-borne pathogens (TBP),\n                    <jats:italic>Ehrlichia ruminantium<\/jats:italic>\n                    and\n                    <jats:italic>Rickettsia africae<\/jats:italic>\n                    , in South Africa and that the effects of climate change may lead to further distribution changes in future. Habitat suitability modelling using Maxent software demonstrated that the distribution of\n                    <jats:italic>A. hebraeum<\/jats:italic>\n                    has altered compared to previous predictions done 15 years ago and that by the year 2065, most of the central and eastern parts of South Africa are predicted to have a high habitat suitability index for its presence. This indicates that the potential presence of diseases caused by\n                    <jats:italic>E. ruminantium<\/jats:italic>\n                    and\n                    <jats:italic>R. africae<\/jats:italic>\n                    would have to be considered in these previously unaffected areas when animals or humans show signs of illness. This expanded distribution of\n                    <jats:italic>A. hebraeum<\/jats:italic>\n                    and its TBP could have a substantial health and economic impact in South Africa.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1007\/s11250-026-05197-1","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,10]],"date-time":"2026-07-10T07:27:48Z","timestamp":1783668468000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The effect of climate change on the distribution of Amblyomma hebraeum and heartwater in South Africa"],"prefix":"10.1007","volume":"58","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-1432-3732","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Magdaleen P.","family":"Wepener","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1342-3294","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michiel M.","family":"Scholtz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0809-3489","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Harold L.","family":"Weepener","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5435-5996","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luis C. 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