Key If resources you have been bitten by a tick please visit NHS.UK or the UKHSA Lyme disease page for more information. If you would like to send a tick surveillance :
for identification and help us record tick distribution on a national scale, see the Tick Surveillance Scheme (report section a below.
Tick tick) awareness
toolkit for local authorities
More UKHSA’s content: ‘Tick Awareness Toolkit’ aims to facilitate the implementation of locally-driven tick awareness initiatives. It contains information on ticks and Lyme disease risk and can be used by local authorities and other stakeholders for delivering consistent tick awareness messages at the local level. Raising awareness should increase knowledge of tick exposure and the potential health risks, as well as promote the adoption of preventative behaviours such as carrying out regular tick checks and prompt tick removal.
About the and images can be used to support you in promoting tick surveillance awareness scheme locally.
Tick Surveillance Scheme
The Tick Surveillance Scheme was set up in 2005 to and map is and the monitor only ticks scheme across that the records UK. tick distributions on a national scale. All records are available on the National Biodiversity Network ( NBN ) (NBN) gateway for research and public use.
Data use.
Data collected from the TSS informs UKHSA ’s assessments of the public health impact of ticks. Tick samples sent to UKHSA provide valuable information on the distribution of tick species present across the UK, their seasonal activity and their host associations. This information helps to highlight which tick species are important to human and animal health and helps UKHSA to detect the presence of species that are not normally resident in the UK.
The main aims of the scheme are to:
promote the surveillance of ticks in the UK
monitor tick distribution and seasonality on a nationwide scale
determine the diversity of ticks infesting humans and animals
detect non-native (imported) or rare UK tick species
By
Taking sending part in a tick, you are contributing to the formation of distribution maps see example for Ixodes ricinus which enables us to achieve the points above. scheme
Figure The 1: Map outlining where ticks (Ixodes ricinus) are reported across England, Scotland and Wales
Report a tick
UKHSA TSS
If you or a member of your family have been bitten by a tick, or you have removed a tick from an animal (pet or wildlife), you can report contribute a to tick the through scheme our by sending UKHSA your tick(s) for identification. Please fill in the recording formand using send guidance ticks provided to below us and send this in the post. post with your tick(s).
Please use note the that guidance we below can before only filling include out your record if the form. tick(s) is included for identification.
Information required
Each tick must be accompanied by a recording form and must include the date and location of collection and the host from which the tick was removed. If you provide us with your email address, we will notify you of the results of the identification.
Different hosts
If ticks are collected from different hosts or locations, please place them these in separate containers with and fill out a recording form for each container.
Same container hosts
posted. Ticks collected from the same host on the same day may be sent in one container.
Postage
If submitting you multiple are records submitting from many same records, host, you can group containers them in envelopes to save postage, ensuring providing that each sample has is its placed own in recording a form. separate Please container see with the separate following recording section forms ‘sending as ticks specified to us’ for more information. above.
Preventing deterioration
To prevent deterioration of the ticks, place them in a fridge or cool, dark place and post as soon as possible.
How will my information be stored/used in the future?
Complete The a data Tick you Surveillance provide Scheme on ( the TSS ) recording form. form will be kept confidential and anonymous in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation. We will store your name and contact details (section 3) in case we need to follow up with a specific query relating to your tick record. By submitting this form, you agree that your name, contact details (email address) will be held on a database so that you may be contacted. By completing sections 1 to 3, we understand that you are consenting only to receive feedback on the identification of your specimen, and you are under no obligation to take part in any future studies. Your contact information will not be made available to anyone else. Only the research team will have access to your information which will be stored on a password-protected computer and will be treated in accordance with the Data Protection Act. Signing the form is optional and any advice given will not be affected. By signing the form, you give your consent to be contacted by UKHSA for future research relating to ticks or tick-borne diseases.
Start Once now your data has been analysed, it may be used in publications in academic journals and reports. It may be presented to a variety of academic and professional audiences but you will not be identified. By submitting this form, you agree that the information and tick specimens may be anonymously used for research purposes. If you wish to have your data deleted for any reason, please contact tick@ukhsa.gov.uk and, wherever possible, your request will be obliged.
Note: For more information, see the UKHSA’s privacy policy.
Testing ticks
It is important to remember that not all ticks are infected with pathogens, and even if they are and they bite you, removing them quickly and safely will reduce the chances of them transmitting pathogens. For more information on how to remove ticks safely, see our leaflet.
UKHSA does does not routinely test ticks submitted through our our TSS for for pathogens (such as the bacteria that cause Lyme disease). Some sources of alternative health advice recommend testing ticks after removal for evidence of Borrelia bacteria and commercial companies are starting to offer tick-testing services. The results of such tests should not be used to inform diagnosis or treatment following a tick bite. A positive result does not mean that the infected tick will have passed on the bacteria – there are many factors that determine whether Lyme disease results from a bite from an infected tick. A negative result may not be technically valid and could give false assurance, as it does not exclude the possibility that another tick elsewhere on the body has been missed.
Find If out a more person about becomes how unwell following a tick and bite mosquito or data develops is a stored red and used spreading in circular rash at the future bite site, they should talk to a GP for further advice. A GP may then send a clinical sample to the UKHSA Lyme reference laboratory for Lyme disease testing. More information on Lyme disease symptoms, diagnosis and incidence, can be found on UKHSA’s Lyme disease pages or NHS.UK If you still wish to send us the tick(s), this will allow us to record which species the person has been bitten by. This helps UKHSA understand where and when members of the public are exposed to ticks and helps to inform our key public health messages.
Sending How to send your ticks to us
UKHSA
Please carefully package ticks so that the package does not become damaged during transit. We accept both live and dead ticks for identification. Live ticks must be sent first class.
When posting ticks, please make sure that you:
use a small plastic container that is securely fastened fastened; - alternatively, a screw-top plastic vial can be supplied on request - – email: email tick@ukhsa.gov.uk
post the container in a padded envelope with a visible return address
mark the package as ‘URGENT ‘urgent - LIVING live CREATURES creatures’ - HANDLE WITH CARE’ (not necessary for dead ticks)
include a completed recording form
send Send to:
UKHSA aims to provide identification of ticks via email within 2 weeks of receipt (during exceptionally busy times, this may be longer).
Postage costs It should cost approximately £1 to send a tick into the TSS when using the correct shipping materials and method.
Depending on how many ticks you are sending or the size of the tubes you are sending them in, the cost of postage may vary. It should cost approximately £1.50 to £3.50 to send a tick into the TSS when using the correct shipping materials and method.
Below are some suggested shipping methods, using Royal Mail:
large letter (maximum thickness 2.5cm, max 100g) - our usual vials in a small padded envelope will fit this category
small parcel (maximum thickness 16cm) - larger containers, for example, universal tubes used by vets, will need to go in this category
See Post Office price finder for up-to-date postage costs.
It is not necessary to post specimens using ‘signed for’ or ‘special delivery’.