What you need to know about tick-borne diseases (TBDs):
- several diseases can be carried by UK ticks
- Lyme disease is the most common
- very few cases of other TBDs have been officially reported in the UK
- symptoms of these diseases overlap those of Lyme disease
- most are treated with the same antibiotics as Lyme disease
For a summary of each disease, see our page on tick-borne diseases.
Recently Tick-borne Encephalistis (TBE) and Babesiosis have been reported in the UK, but these are isolated cases and we don’t really know how prevalent these infections are in our ticks. Researchers from Public Health England’s Tick Surveillance Scheme collect and analyse ticks from locations across the country.
Following a report about the first officially reported case of Babesiosis in England, we have prepared a summary to cover what Babesia is, the symptoms, diagnosis and what we know about UK Babesiosis.
Just remember to check for ticks. They can be tiny and might be behind your knee or at your child’s hairline.
See that little black speck on the wrist? It’s a tick and it needs removing in case it carries disease. Don’t panic – just see our tick removal page.
No tick remover? Visit our shop!
On average only about 1 in 10 of UK ticks carry disease, and where you have just walked it might be zero. But you don’t know, so just remove your tick promptly and be alert for symptoms over the next couple of weeks.
Tick infection rates are higher in most of mainland Europe and in parts of N America, so be aware of this if you are going on holiday.
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