UK tick-borne disease risk is shifting for pets and practices

Ticks and tick-borne diseases are becoming a more complex veterinary threat in the UK, with Lyme disease remaining the main endemic concern and babesiosis still drawing attention as a potentially establishing canine risk in some areas. UKHSA’s latest surveillance work, published in January 2026, found 27 tick species recorded through the UK Tick Surveillance Scheme between 2021 and 2024, with Ixodes ricinus still the most common UK tick and the main vector for Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis. The same work also flagged continued detections of imported tick species, reinforcing concern that pathogen risks are shifting alongside pet travel, animal movement, climate, and land-use change. (researchportal.ukhsa.gov.uk)

Why it matters: For veterinary teams, this is less about a single new outbreak and more about a moving risk map. UKHSA says roughly 4% to 6% of ticks tested in its National Tick Survey carry the bacteria that can cause Lyme disease, while Babesia prevalence is much lower, at under 1%. Even so, canine babesiosis remains clinically important because past UK cases in untravelled dogs, especially in Essex, showed how quickly a localized vector-pathogen combination can become a practice-level concern. That means more value in risk-based parasite control, travel histories, rapid tick identification, and keeping tick-borne disease on differential lists for dogs with fever, lethargy, anaemia, thrombocytopenia, shifting-leg lameness, or unexplained polyarthritis. (gov.uk)

What to watch: Expect more emphasis on surveillance, local risk mapping, and practitioner submissions as UK authorities and veterinary groups track whether changing tick distribution translates into more companion animal disease. (researchportal.ukhsa.gov.uk)