A Danish woman has become the first person in Denmark to be bitten by a hunting tick, a type of tick that can carry the deadly disease Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, which has a mortality rate of up to 50 percent. According to senior researcher René Bødker from the Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at the University of Copenhagen, rising temperatures are allowing the hunting tick to survive and thrive in Denmark.
The hunting tick, originally brought to Denmark by migratory birds from Africa and the Middle East, has previously been only sporadically recorded in horses in the country. However, the hot summer of 2018 marked a turning point, with the tick being observed in Northern Germany, Denmark, and Sweden. The warm and dry weather allows the tick to survive and transition from the nymph stage to the adult stage, something that was previously prevented by the colder and wetter Danish weather conditions.
This new situation raises the question of how to handle this new threat in the future. The hunting tick differs from the common forest tick by actively seeking out its hosts, as it can both see and smell humans and animals, and then move across the forest floor to find its prey.
Although Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever is extremely rare, doctors should be aware of the disease. Senior researcher René Bødker emphasizes that doctors should be able to recognize the symptoms, especially if a patient presents with severe bleeding and may not necessarily have traveled outside of Denmark.
Despite the new threat, it is still the common forest tick that carries diseases such as Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), which pose the greatest health risks in Denmark. Therefore, it is important to take precautions to avoid tick bites in general.
René Bødker warns that with ongoing climate change, we can expect to see more hunting ticks in the coming years. This highlights the need to be extra vigilant in protecting against tick bites, not only to avoid more common diseases like Lyme disease, but also potentially more dangerous diseases like Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever.