Possible expansion of Ixodes ricinus in the United Kingdom identified through the Tick Surveillance Scheme between 2013 and 2020

Sara L. Gandy; Kayleigh M. Hansford; Jolyon M. Medlock

doi:10.1111/mve.12612

Possible expansion of Ixodes ricinus in the United Kingdom identified through the Tick Surveillance Scheme between 2013 and 2020

Sara L. Gandy^*, Kayleigh M. Hansford, Jolyon M. Medlock

^*Corresponding author for this work

UK Health Security Agency

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

118 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The tick Ixodes ricinus (Ixodida: Ixodidae, Linnaeus) is the main vector of several pathogens including Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. (agent of Lyme borreliosis) and tick-borne encephalitis virus. Its distribution depends on many factors including suitable habitat, climate and presence of hosts. In this study, we present records of I. ricinus bites on humans, dogs (Canis lupus familiaris; Carnivora: Canidae, L.) and cats (Felis catus; Carnivora: Felidiae, L.) in the United Kingdom (UK) obtained through the Tick Surveillance Scheme between 2013 and 2020. We divided the UK into 20 km x 20 km grids and 9.2% (range 1.2%–30%) of grids had at least one record every year since 2013. Most regions reported a yearly increase in the percentage of grids reporting I. ricinus since 2013 and the highest changes occurred in the South and East England with 5%–6.7% of new grids reporting I. ricinus bites each year in areas that never reported ticks before. Spatiotemporal analyses suggested that, while all regions recorded I. ricinus in new areas every year, there was a yearly decline in the percentage of new areas covered, except for Scotland. We discuss potential drivers of tick expansion, including reforestation and increase in deer populations.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	96-104
Number of pages	9
Journal	Medical and Veterinary Entomology
Volume	37
Issue number	1
Early online date	14 Oct 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/mve.12612
Publication status	Published - Mar 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding information: No funding information

Open Access: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Crown copyright. Medical and Veterinary Entomology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Royal Entomological Society. This article is published with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen's Printer for Scotland.

Citation: Gandy, S.L., Hansford, K.M. & Medlock, J.M. (2023) Possible expansion of Ixodes ricinus in the United Kingdom identified through the Tick Surveillance Scheme between 2013 and 2020. Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 37( 1), 96– 104. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/mve.12612

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/mve.12612

Keywords

Borrelia burgdorferi s.l
distribution
surveillance
vector
vector-borne disease

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10.1111/mve.12612Licence: CC BY

Gandy2023PossibleExpansionOfIxodesRicinusInTheUnitedKingdomIdentifiedThroughTheTickSurveillanceSchemeMedVetEntomolFinal published version, 918 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "Possible expansion of Ixodes ricinus in the United Kingdom identified through the Tick Surveillance Scheme between 2013 and 2020",

abstract = "The tick Ixodes ricinus (Ixodida: Ixodidae, Linnaeus) is the main vector of several pathogens including Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. (agent of Lyme borreliosis) and tick-borne encephalitis virus. Its distribution depends on many factors including suitable habitat, climate and presence of hosts. In this study, we present records of I. ricinus bites on humans, dogs (Canis lupus familiaris; Carnivora: Canidae, L.) and cats (Felis catus; Carnivora: Felidiae, L.) in the United Kingdom (UK) obtained through the Tick Surveillance Scheme between 2013 and 2020. We divided the UK into 20 km x 20 km grids and 9.2% (range 1.2%–30%) of grids had at least one record every year since 2013. Most regions reported a yearly increase in the percentage of grids reporting I. ricinus since 2013 and the highest changes occurred in the South and East England with 5%–6.7% of new grids reporting I. ricinus bites each year in areas that never reported ticks before. Spatiotemporal analyses suggested that, while all regions recorded I. ricinus in new areas every year, there was a yearly decline in the percentage of new areas covered, except for Scotland. We discuss potential drivers of tick expansion, including reforestation and increase in deer populations.",

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note = "Funding information: No funding information Open Access: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 Crown copyright. Medical and Veterinary Entomology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Royal Entomological Society. This article is published with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen's Printer for Scotland. Citation: Gandy, S.L., Hansford, K.M. & Medlock, J.M. (2023) Possible expansion of Ixodes ricinus in the United Kingdom identified through the Tick Surveillance Scheme between 2013 and 2020. Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 37( 1), 96– 104. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/mve.12612 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/mve.12612",

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Possible expansion of Ixodes ricinus in the United Kingdom identified through the Tick Surveillance Scheme between 2013 and 2020

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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