Cases of Tick-Borne Illnesses Are on the Rise. Some Experts Believe Climate Change is the Cause

(NEW YORK) — In 2022, doctors recorded the first confirmed case of tick-borne encephalitis virus acquired in the United Kingdom. It began with a bike ride. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] A 50-year-old man was mountain biking in the North Yorkshire Moors, a national park in England known for its vast expanses of woodland and purple heather. At some point on his ride, at least one black-legged tick burrowed into his skin. Five days later, the mountain biker developed symptoms commonly associated with a viral infection — fatigue, muscle pain, fever. At first, he seemed to be on the mend, but about a week later, he started to lose coordination. An MRI scan revealed he had developed encephalitis, or swelling of the brain. He had been infected with tick-borne encephalitis, or TBE, a potentially deadly disease that experts say is spreading into new regions due in large part to global warming. For the past 30 years, the U.K. has become roughly 1 degree Celsius warmer (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) on average compared to the historical norm. Studies have shown that several tick-borne illnesses are becoming more prevalent because of climate change. Public health officials are particularly concerned about TBE, which is deadlier than more well-known tick diseases such as Lyme, due to the way it has quickly jumped from country to country. Gábor Földvári, an expert at the Center for Ecological Research in Hungary, said the ef...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized climate change healthscienceclimate wire Source Type: news