UK tick-borne disease risk is changing for pets and people

CURRENT BRIEF VERSION: Ticks and tick-borne disease risk is shifting in the UK, with implications for both companion animal practice and One Health surveillance. Recent UK Health Security Agency work shows Ixodes ricinus remains the country’s most common tick and the main vector for Lyme disease, while surveillance also points to the continued presence and geographic change of other species, including Dermacentor reticulatus, which can transmit Babesia canis. In parallel, updated UKHSA data reported 1,581 laboratory-confirmed human Lyme disease cases in 2024, underscoring that exposure risk is not static. Earlier UK investigations also confirmed B. canis infections in dogs in Harlow, Essex, without travel history, and government summaries say ongoing cases continue to be identified in dogs with no history of travel abroad. Occupational exposure data from outside the UK also help show what heavy tick burden can look like in practice: a recent Vermont farmworker survey found an average of three tick encounters over six months, but some workers reported as many as 70 encounters, highlighting how intense exposure can become in high-risk outdoor settings. (researchportal.ukhsa.gov.uk)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the practical message is that tick-borne disease can no longer be framed only as a travel-associated problem or a narrow rural issue. UKHSA’s recent Borrelia surveillance found an overall 5.8% prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. in sampled I. ricinus nymphs from recreational areas in England and Wales between 2021 and 2023, with marked local variation, while BSAVA has highlighted that some UK dogs with ehrlichiosis and babesiosis had not travelled. The Vermont farmworker data also underline the occupational and livelihood impact of repeated tick exposure, with 12% of respondents reporting a previous tick-borne disease diagnosis. That means risk assessment, prevention advice, tick checks, diagnostic suspicion, and client communication all need to reflect local ecology, imported disease pathways, and the possibility of autochthonous infection. (researchportal.ukhsa.gov.uk)

What to watch: Expect continued emphasis on surveillance, local risk mapping, and more tailored parasite-control advice as UK agencies and veterinary groups respond to changing tick distribution, pathogen detection, environmental pressures, and the practical realities of high-exposure outdoor work. (researchportal.ukhsa.gov.uk)