Life-threatening disease linked to tick bites found at popular UK beauty spots
Two cases of possible life-threatening illness linked to tick bites in the UK last year were “locally acquired”, health officials said.
A possible case of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) has been reported by a person bitten by a tick while visiting Dartmoor.
The second person had no memory of the tick bite but had visited the Peak District and Outer Hebrides, a new report suggests.
The first case of locally acquired TBE in England was recorded in 2019 after a person was bitten by a tick in the New Forest.
Until then, TBE was considered an “imported disease” to the UK, according to the report of new diseases caused by parasites, viruses and bacteria.
The UK Health Safety Agency (UKHSA) said the new cases bring the total of cases originating from the UK to six.
Officials said surveillance showed the TBE virus remained “confined to a few areas” in England, including Thetford Forest, New Forest, Devon, North Yorkshire, Dartmoor and parts of Scotland.
Tick-borne encephalitis virus is transmitted by the bite of an infected tick.
The infection causes few or no symptoms in most infected people, but in rare cases the virus can enter the central nervous system and potentially lead to long-term neurological symptoms and, very rarely, death.
A vaccine is available and is recommended for people working in forestry, lumberjacking, farming and the military where the virus is endemic.
The most common locally acquired so-called vector-borne diseases in England are caused by ticks, with 1,168 cases of Lyme disease recorded in England last year, according to the report by UKHSA together with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).
The authors said this was an increase from 959 cases in 2024 but remained “similar” to 2023, when 1,151 cases were reported.
Lyme disease presents with a “bullseye” rash; Some people also experience flu-like symptoms such as high fever, headache, muscle or joint pain, and fatigue.
Elsewhere, the report also details mosquito-borne illnesses recorded in the UK after people traveled abroad.
These include: 159 cases of chikungunya; 336 cases of dengue fever; 1,629 cases of malaria and seven cases of Zika virus, all contracted while abroad.
Although locally acquired mosquito-borne infections have not been reported in the UK, the report highlights the increasing threat of these viruses.
Along with the report, authorities also updated their contingency plans for invasive aedes mosquitoes and West Nile virus in the UK.
The aedes mosquito, which spreads dengue fever and chikungunya viruses, is now found in 16 European countries, and officials say temperatures in the south-east of England are already high enough for these mosquitoes to survive.
“The overall risk to the public from vector-borne diseases in the UK remains low, but the findings of this report show how the risk landscape is changing due to factors such as climate change, urbanization and the globalization of trade and travel,” said Professor Lea BerrangFord from UKHSA.
“As we continue to detect attacks by invasive mosquitoes at points of entry in the UK, we are now seeing cases of mosquito-borne infections regularly reported across Europe and it is therefore vital to maintain robust surveillance to maintain biosecurity.”
APHA’s Dr Arran Folly added: “Mosquitoes and ticks are more than seasonal nuisances; they can act as early warning signals for emerging disease threats.”
