Brief
UK health agency warns heat‑driven ticks could spread Crimean‑Congo fever
Dr Jolyon Medlock of UKHSA says hotter summers let disease‑carrying ticks survive longer, potentially increasing exposure to a deadly virus.
By Felo News Desk · Published
Recent heatwaves are extending the lifespan of hyalomma ticks in Britain, a specialist warned, raising concerns about the spread of Crimean‑Congo haemorrhagic fever.
What happened
Dr Jolyon Medlock, head of medical entomology at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), explained that past UK temperatures were too cool for hyalomma ticks to reach adulthood. In the current heatwave years, the ticks can now moult from nymphs – which arrive on migratory birds from Africa and the Mediterranean – into adult stages that survive longer in the environment.
What the reports add
Medlock noted that adult hyalomma records have occurred less than five times in the past decade, but surveillance is picking up more instances across northern Europe. He stressed that the presence of adult ticks does not automatically mean a higher infection risk, but it does warrant closer monitoring.
What was said
“They would normally come in on migratory birds as a nymph, and then fall off, and they wouldn’t be able to moult. It’s not warm enough,” Medlock told the Independent.
“What we’re seeing now in heatwave years is that they can moult through to the adult stage, and we then could be able to pick up records of adults through our tick surveillance,” he added.
How it came about
The UKHSA’s Tick Surveillance Scheme, launched in 2005, tracks tick distribution nationwide. Medlock said records of hyalomma nymphs on migratory birds date back 50 years, but adult sightings have been rare until recent unusually warm summers.
Key facts
- Heatwaves are allowing hyalomma ticks to mature into adults in the UK. (independent.co.uk)
- Adult hyalomma ticks have been recorded fewer than five times in the last ten years. (independent.co.uk)
- Hyalomma ticks can carry Crimean‑Congo haemorrhagic fever, a virus with up to 40% fatality. (independent.co.uk)
Sources
- [1] independent.co.uk — originally reported as “Britain’s long hot summers mean disease-carrying ticks are living longer”
