REVIEW
TICK BITES: HOW TO AVOID THEM AND WHAT TO DO IF YOU GET BITTEN
With the number of critters on the rise, the UK is seeing increasing cases of tick-borne viruses
REALITY CHECK
SCIENCE BEHIND THE HEADLINES
Tick bites | Alien life | Gene-edited food
ALAMY, SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
“When ticks bite they can transmit microorganisms into our blood through their saliva.”
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Earlier this year, a 50-year-old man in Yorkshire became the first person in England to contract a confirmed case of tick-borne encephalitis, after being bitten while mountain biking. The virus has since been detected in Dorset, Norfolk and Hampshire. With tick numbers increasing in the UK over recent years, the likelihood of being bitten is also rising. So just how dangerous are tick bites?