- Recent UK heatwaves are allowing disease-carrying Hyalomma ticks to moult into adults and survive for longer periods, public health experts have warned.
- The ticks, which travel to the UK attached to migratory birds, are the primary vector for Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, a virus with a fatality rate of up to 40 per cent.
- Dr Jolyon Medlock from the UK Health Security Agency noted that although adult tick records remain rare, detections are starting to increase across northern Europe.
- Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever causes sudden symptoms such as high fever, dizziness, headache, and confusion, with an incubation period of up to nine days following a bite.
- Specialists warn that broader climate shifts including milder winters and hotter summers could extend overall tick activity throughout the year in the UK.
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