Tick-borne disease - changing patterns a nd effective interventions

Abstract

Tick-borne diseases are an important cause of morbidity and occasionally mortality, with infection usually passing zoonotically from animal hosts to humans. The nature and extent of tick-borne disease can change in distribution as a result of changes in habitat, vectors and reservoirs, as well as through host population movement and alterations in agricultural, industrial and leisure activities. The diseases are also sensitive to climate and may therefore either decrease or increase under the effects of climate change. These dynamically changing patterns of disease, along with increased international travel, mean that medical practitioners need to be aware of the potential diagnosis of tick-borne disease as there can be serious clinical consequences of misdiagnosis or delayed detection.