Tick-borne disease ‘probably here’
It’s quite possible that a tick-borne brain disease, which recently made its way to the UK, is already in Ireland.
That’s according to Dr Eoin Healy, Research Associate at the UCC School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, who said he is “very confident” that tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) has already made its way to Ireland.
“It’s probably here. Just because something hasn't been found doesn't mean it isn't there. It's not surprising that people have picked it up in the UK,” Dr Healy told the Cork Independent.
“They found it because they looked for it. If we were to look for it in ticks here, I'd be very, very confident that it would be found here as well,” he added.
TBE is a human viral infectious disease which occurs in many parts of Europe and Asia and affects the central nervous system. Early signs have been described as flu-like symptoms.
It is understood that the virus, which was recently discovered in ticks in the UK for the first time, was carried by migratory birds from eastern and northern Europe.
Dr Healy said: “These viruses and bacteria have a life of their own and live in most animals, small mammals and birds, and are picked up by ticks and are transmitted to humans.
“We have such a huge influx of migratory birds every autumn from eastern and north-eastern Europe to the UK and Ireland. These birds are inevitably carrying ticks. The ticks attach to a bird for three to five days, so it can easily make that journey, and then drops off somewhere here, and then you get infected ticks in Ireland.”
According to Dr Healy, there is currently no official national surveillance on any insect, arthropod or tick-borne diseases in Ireland.
“Somebody can be bitten by a tick and come back as negative for Lyme disease, but the laboratory will not test for other tick-borne microbes like Bartronella, Borrelia, Babesia or Anaplasma,” said Dr Healy.
He added: “A GP would have to make a very strong case to a hospital lab to have tests conducted for one of these other bugs and in these cases the samples would have to be sent abroad for analysis.”
Although the mortality rate is quite low with TBE, Dr Healy underlined the importance of awareness and education when it comes to tick-borne illnesses and urged the public to insist on thorough checks if they feel they have been bitten by a tick.
“We're inclined to think that we don't have infectious diseases in Ireland. It is almost totally down to the education of the general public and for them to be aware of the risk and how to avoid and minimise the risk,” he concluded.