Why tick-borne disease risk is becoming harder to map

The threat from ticks and tick-borne diseases is changing, and the shift is becoming easier to document. In the UK, the latest surveillance and veterinary commentary suggest the issue is no longer just seasonal nuisance control or a narrow Lyme disease conversation. Instead, veterinary teams are dealing with a more fluid risk picture shaped by changing tick distribution, pet travel and movement, habitat change, and better surveillance. A January 2026 UKHSA paper based on Tick Surveillance Scheme submissions from 2021 to 2024 found 3,182 tick records covering 27 species, with Ixodes ricinus still the most common tick and the primary vector for Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis in the UK. (researchportal.ukhsa.gov.uk)

That broader framing matches the thrust of recent clinical commentary from Ian Wright, a practising vet, co-owner of The Mount Veterinary Practice, and ESCCAP leader, who wrote in Vet Times in February 2026 that ticks and their pathogens are a growing threat to UK pets. His argument is that the UK is increasingly reflecting the rapidly changing European tick landscape, with risk driven not only by domestic exposure, but also by pet movement and pathogen introduction. In other words, the concern is no longer whether ticks matter, but how quickly local risk profiles are changing. (vettimes.com)

Lyme disease remains the anchor point for that discussion. UKHSA said in March 2024 that rising totals are likely tied to several overlapping factors: increased awareness, improved surveillance, better access to diagnostics, more opportunities for tick encounters because of wildlife and habitat changes, and shifts in human behavior. While that statement addresses human disease, it matters to veterinary teams because the same ecological pressures influence companion animal exposure and because Lyme disease remains one of the clearest examples of a shared environmental risk for pets and people. (ukhsa.blog.gov.uk)

Babesiosis shows why the profession also needs to think beyond Lyme. The UK’s canine babesiosis experience, especially the Essex outbreak first recognized in winter 2015-2016, demonstrated that locally acquired infection can occur in dogs without travel history when Babesia canis and Dermacentor reticulatus overlap. Follow-up reporting on that outbreak noted subsequent cases in Romford in 2016 and another untraveled dog in Hertfordshire in 2017, reinforcing concern that focal establishment is possible even if the disease is not considered widely endemic in the UK dog population. APHA has also stated that vets may use imidocarb under the cascade for treatment and prevention decisions in dogs. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)

The surveillance piece is becoming more actionable. The Tick Surveillance Scheme now supports updated species distribution maps and a tick-bite incidence heat map for England and Wales, designed to guide local public health interventions. Wright’s Vet Times article also emphasizes practical response: after removal, ticks should be identified, including through the TSS or ESCCAP resources, because species matters for risk assessment. That’s especially relevant where D. reticulatus is concerned, since not every tick carries the same disease implications for dogs, cats, livestock, or pet parents. (researchportal.ukhsa.gov.uk)

Industry and research reaction outside the UK points in the same direction: exposure pressure is rising for people who work outdoors, and veterinary professionals are part of that broader One Health conversation. In January 2026, Binghamton University highlighted research led by Mandy Roome in southern Vermont showing that 12% of surveyed farm respondents reported ever being diagnosed with a tick-borne disease, with some workers reporting as many as 70 tick encounters over six months. That study is US-based, not UK-specific, but it reinforces the same core message seen in UK surveillance: tick exposure is becoming more intense, more occupationally relevant, and harder to dismiss as a background seasonal issue. (binghamton.edu)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the practical takeaway is that tick prevention and tick-borne disease suspicion should become more geographically nuanced, not simply more aggressive. Practices may need to update protocols around travel history, imported pets, outdoor lifestyle, working dogs, raw habitat exposure, and client education for pet parents who assume risk is limited to traditional hotspots or summer months. Clinically, Lyme disease may be the best-known concern, but babesiosis remains the condition most likely to test whether teams are thinking broadly enough when faced with pyrexia, anemia, lethargy, thrombocytopenia, or hemoglobinuria in a dog with no travel history. Surveillance literacy, including knowing local vectors and when to submit ticks for identification, is becoming part of good primary care. (vettimes.com)

What to watch: The next signals to follow are updated UKHSA Tick Surveillance Scheme maps, any new reports of locally acquired canine babesiosis outside known foci, and whether veterinary guidance shifts further toward region-specific prevention advice as tick distributions continue to change. (researchportal.ukhsa.gov.uk)