UKHSA Briefing Note – 2025/016 Vector-borne disease in UK and Europe; risk ahead of summer.
The epidemiology of vector borne diseases (VBDs) is evolving worldwide, including within the UK and Europe. Some popular European travel destinations now pose a risk of infections such as dengue fever, West Nile virus (WNV) and Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic fever (CCHF).
Viruses such as tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), Usutu and now WNV have been detected in vectors within the UK.
There is a risk that patients and clinicians may be unaware of recent changes in epidemiology and therefore not consider these diseases in the differential diagnosis of illnesses, particularly of neurological syndromes.
Recommendations for primary and secondary care clinicians
Primary care and travel medicine providers should advise patients pre-travel in line with country-specific guidance available at NaTHNaC – Country List. Patients visiting areas with a risk of tick-borne or mosquito-borne infections should receive advice on bite avoidance.
Primary and secondary care clinicians should take a travel history from patients with infection syndromes and discuss clinical queries with local infection services where indicated. Input should be sought from infection services for returning travellers from countries in Europe where the cause of illness has not been identified through routine investigations. VBDs such as dengue, chikungunya, WNV and CCHF should be considered in the context of a compatible clinical syndrome and recent travel to endemic regions in Europe, or regions with recent locally acquired cases.
Specialist advice on imported infections is available from the UKHSA Imported Fever Service on 0844 778 8990 (available 24/7)
Information on current outbreaks is available on the travel health website NaTHNaC – Outbreak Surveillance. For up-to date information on the epidemiology of vector-borne diseases in Europe, please see the ECDC webpages.