Tick risk is shifting for pets, people, and veterinary practice: full analysis

The tick threat is no longer standing still. New research from the northeastern US and updated commentary from UK veterinary parasitology experts point to the same conclusion: tick exposure is rising, the geography of risk is changing, and the clinical conversation for veterinarians now has to account for both endemic disease pressure and emerging pathogens. A Binghamton University-led study of Southern Vermont farms captured the intensity of exposure among outdoor workers, while a recent Vet Times analysis argued that UK companion animal practice is facing a more complex tick-borne disease landscape than in the past. (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)

The Vermont findings add occupational detail to a broader trend. Published in the Journal of Agromedicine, the study surveyed 53 people representing 46 dairy and livestock farms and found that 12% reported ever being diagnosed with a tick-borne disease. Participants reported an average of three tick encounters in the prior six months, but the upper end of the range, 70 encounters, illustrates how concentrated exposure can become in agricultural settings. The authors concluded that farmers and farmworkers are a high-risk population and that prevention strategies need to be tailored to their work environment. (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)

That aligns with wider US surveillance. CDC says the range of the tick that transmits Lyme disease is expanding, and CAPC’s 2025 Pet Parasite Forecast says Lyme and anaplasmosis risk continues to spread south and west, with increasing seropositivity expected in parts of the western US as well. A CDC study published in Emerging Infectious Diseases also documented a rapid increase in canine Borrelia burgdorferi seroprevalence in northwestern North Carolina from 2017 to 2021, reinforcing the value of routine canine screening as an early signal of changing local risk. (cdc.gov)

In the UK, the recent Vet Times article frames the issue in similarly practical terms for small animal clinicians. It says Lyme disease remains the most important tick-borne pathogen affecting UK dogs, but warns that dogs are being exposed to more Borrelia-infected ticks and that imported ticks and pathogens are reshaping the threat profile. The piece also notes recent reports to ESCCAP UK and Ireland of imported Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks causing household infestations, a reminder that pet travel and movement can alter risk even where local tick ecology appears stable. Government and public health messaging has also sharpened: UKHSA reported 1,581 laboratory-confirmed Lyme disease cases in England in 2024 and has linked tick awareness efforts to the ongoing public health burden. (vettimes.com)

Industry and expert commentary has been moving in the same direction for some time, but the message is becoming more urgent. BSAVA previously urged vets to stay vigilant for tick-borne diseases in dogs, including infections not currently established in the UK, after reviewing cases that included ehrlichiosis and babesiosis. APHA, meanwhile, issued a 2025 alert on increasing tick-borne disease reports in cattle and sheep and encouraged tick submission to the UKHSA Tick Surveillance Scheme. Taken together, those signals suggest the issue is no longer confined to one species, one setting, or one side of the human-animal health divide. (veterinary-practice.com)

Why it matters: For veterinary teams, the practical implication is that tick prevention and case workups need to be more localized, more year-round, and more alert to travel and lifestyle risk. Practices in historically lower-risk areas may now be seeing genuine epidemiologic change rather than isolated anomalies. That affects how teams discuss preventives with pet parents, when they recommend screening, and how they interpret nonspecific signs such as fever, lameness, thrombocytopenia, or lethargy. It also strengthens the case for using dogs as sentinels in a One Health framework, because canine serology and tick encounters can signal pathogen pressure before human trends are fully visible. (wwwnc.cdc.gov)

There’s also a communication challenge. Tick-borne disease risk is still often framed seasonally, but several sources now emphasize that exposure can extend beyond traditional peak months, especially as climate, land use, wildlife movement, and pet travel patterns shift. For clinicians, the value is in making prevention advice more specific: matching products and timing to local vectors, reinforcing tick checks and prompt removal, documenting travel history, and keeping imported or less familiar pathogens on the differential when the presentation fits. (vettimes.com)

What to watch: The next phase will likely be defined by better regional surveillance, more use of companion animal data to map emerging hotspots, and closer coordination between veterinary, agricultural, and public health systems as tick ranges and pathogen profiles continue to shift. (capcvet.org)