Key facts
- Disease-carrying ticks are surviving longer in the UK due to heatwaves, an expert warned.
- Hyalomma ticks, which transmit Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, can now reach adulthood in the UK.
- The virus has a fatality rate of up to 40% and symptoms include fever, dizziness, and confusion.
- Warmer weather is also shifting the general seasonality of tick activity in the UK.
Disease-carrying ticks are surviving longer in the UK due to increasingly hot weather, an expert has warned. Dr. Jolyon Medlock, head of medical entomology at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), stated that previously, the UK's climate was not warm enough for certain ticks, like the Hyalomma tick, to survive into adulthood.
Hyalomma ticks are significant transmitters of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, a potentially severe and life-threatening virus. These ticks can arrive in the UK as nymphs, often carried by migratory birds from regions like the Mediterranean and Africa. Dr. Medlock explained that in years with heatwaves, these ticks can complete their moulting process to reach the adult stage, which is then detected through the UKHSA's tick surveillance efforts.
While the survival of adult ticks is still considered rare, Dr. Medlock noted that such occurrences are being observed more frequently across northern Europe. He cautioned that this does not automatically mean an infection risk, but it is a development being monitored. The UKHSA's Tick Surveillance Scheme has been in place since 2005 to map and track tick populations.