Travellers may be advised to get a new vaccine amid the rise of tick-borne virus: should we be worried?

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs are currently investigating the spread of tick-borne encephalitis (TBEV).

According to an expert, Brits could need vaccines to tackle the disease as warm summer may lead to the situation with the tick spread spinning out of control.

Health expert: ‘I don’t think it’s going away’

This week, the authorities warned Brits TBEV may be present elsewhere in the country due to the tick species that carries it is now more widespread.

It was first detected in Britain in Norfolk in 2019 and has since been found in Hampshire/Dorset and Yorkshire, where the first human case was confirmed last year.

According to Ian Jones, Professor of Virology at the University of Reading, the dangerous species of tick that carries the virus ‘will become more prominent’ across the country.

The expert said:

I think that the spread that’s happened in the last three years will continue, so I don’t think it’s going away.

He believes that genetically, the UK viruses have been close to European or Scandinavian strains so they may have originally arrived from the near continent in ticks attached to birds.

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How worried should we be?

Prof Jones warns that most at risk to catch the disease are forestry workers and countryside wardens, who work out in the fields, particularly long grass.

But holidaymakers and anyone spending time out in nature where infected ticks are present could be affected too.

In tick-borne encephalitis, the viral infectious disease involves the central nervous system. It most often manifests as meningitis, encephalitis or meningoencephalitis.

Myelitis and spinal paralysis also occur. In about one-third of cases sequelae, predominantly cognitive dysfunction, persist for a year or more.

Although most people infected with tick-borne encephalitis do not feel ill, symptoms may include fever, aches, loss of appetite, headache, nausea and vomiting.

Some people develop swelling of the brain and/or spinal cord, confusion, and sensory disturbances.

What do we know about the vaccine?

Prof Jones predicts that a vaccine used in certain parts of Europe may eventually be offered in the UK to those most exposed.

He said:

The vaccine already exists, I seem to remember Austria vaccinates - not on a public scale.

It’s there, it’s used, it’s safe, and we don’t need to invent a new one. It’s not like Chadox or anything like that. It could be used, but at the moment the cases wouldn’t support it.

If vaccinations were introduced in the UK, they would be advised for forestry workers or countryside wardens, but not on a compulsory basis, the expert believes.

The professor emphasised:

It’s not something that’s ever going to threaten central London or something on the Tube - it isn’t that type of virus. It’s very much related to outdoor pursuits in forested areas and walking in wildlife.

The main thing is people just need to be aware of it but it’s not a human threat in that sense on any large scale.

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Sources used:

- Mirror: 'Brits may need another vaccine for new virus as UK gets warmer, expert warns'