Rising UK temperatures let disease-carrying ticks survive longer
Heatwaves are enabling hyalomma ticks, which can spread Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, to mature and persist longer in Britain, according to a UK health entomology expert.
Recent heatwaves are giving hyalomma ticks, normally limited by cooler British weather, enough warmth to develop from nymphs to adults after hitching rides on birds migrating from Africa and the Mediterranean. Dr Jolyon Medlock, head of medical entomology at the UK Health Security Agency, notes that adult tick records have risen to a handful of instances over the past decade, prompting increased monitoring. These ticks are the main vector for Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, a virus endemic in Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and Asia, with a mortality rate that can reach 40 %.
The UKHSA’s Tick Surveillance Scheme, operating since 2005, is now picking up more adult specimens. Additionally, milder winters and hotter, drier summers are likely to keep ticks active year-round, altering the traditional seasonal risk of tick-borne diseases across the country.
Why it matters
Warmer British weather could raise the risk of a serious tick-borne disease previously rare in the UK.
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