by Disease-carrying bugs from Europe are gradually crossing the English Channel and arriving in Britain as a result of climate change, government scientists have warned.
Insects that once lived in the warm climates of the Mediterranean or further south are now migrating to northern Europe. They are then blown across the English Channel by the wind or hit by a lift on ferries or trains.
Studies show that the pests are also able to flourish in the UK as temperatures rise and winters get shorter.
The Government’s leading in-house experts are committing millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money to tackle the issue of introducing alien species into the UK.
Plant, animal and human health scientists are all grappling with the same issue and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is increasingly concerned about dengue fever (also known as bone-breaking fever) carried by the tiger mosquito . Cases are increasing in northern France, with evidence suggesting it is becoming entrenched in the area.
Models predict that much of the UK will become hospitable to this mosquito in the coming years as a result of climate change.
Click here to view this content.
Last year, Dr Jolyon Medlock, head of medical entomology and zoonoses ecology at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said the tiger mosquito could become endemic in the UK within less than ten years.
Dr Isabel Oliver, UKHSA’s chief science officer, told the Telegraph: “Most illnesses and deaths from mosquito-borne diseases occur in the tropics. However, there is an increased risk of invasive mosquitoes to the UK.
“Factors behind this increased risk include climate and environmental change, the globalization of travel and trade as well as changes in land use.”
The UKHSA runs a surveillance scheme with a range of traps in Kent, Sussex and elsewhere in southern England which are regularly checked by entomologists for signs of the tiger mosquito (Aedes aegypti).
“As well as monitoring infections in humans, the UK Health Security Agency also monitors mosquitoes and other vectors of infection to monitor risks to population health so we can identify any changes promptly and effectively,” said Dr. Oliver.
Public health experts are also keeping a close eye on tick-borne encephalitis and Lyme disease traveling to the UK from overseas, along with West Nile virus, chikungunya virus and malaria.
‘We can’t stop it at the border’
Government experts are also working on the issue of protecting the UK’s flora and fauna from invaders.
Native spruce trees are at risk from the European beetle and scientists are urging the public to keep an eye out for signs of disease on trees and report it for study.
The spruce bark beetle, Ips typographus, is becoming a concern with much of the south east, including Norfolk, Suffolk, London and Kent, now subject to a proactive spruce removal area. Landowners are being encouraged to replace the tree with another species.
Professor Nicola Spence, the UK’s chief plant health officer at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), said it is almost impossible to stop the beetle’s arrival.
“I can’t control that. I can’t stop him at the border because he’s going to find wind events anyway,” she told the Telegraph.
“Although we’re finding it in the south-east, what’s at risk is all the spruce forests in Scotland, in Wales, in the south-west. We are managing that very much in the south east to protect the rest of the UK.
“Pests and pathogens pose a major threat to UK biosecurity and our ecosystems. Climate change and globalization have led to a rapid increase in the number and variety that we are exposed to in recent years.
“In recent years we have seen destructive pests, such as Ips Typographus, which can cause significant damage to the UK’s forestry and timber industries, enter the UK through strong winds and survive warmer weather.
“We have strong surveillance and eradication measures in place to combat outbreaks, but it is vital that we continue to adapt to a changing climate and build the resilience of our trees and plants if they are to survive.”
Meanwhile, this summer vets at Defra were preparing for a flurry of tests for bluetongue, an infection that affects farm animals such as cattle and sheep, and is characterized by bluetongue in infected animals.
Whales, which belong to the species culicides, spread the virus to anything they feed on, including sheep, deer, llamas and goats. It does not affect people or food security, experts say.
Farmers, vets and Government scientists across the country are on the alert for bluetongue, with the latest Government guidance saying “infected culicides could be spread to Great Britain by wind” from coastal clusters in Germany , in the Netherlands and Belgium. .
There is a “medium” risk of a whale carrying a disease for which there is no vaccine, experts say.
Ele Brown, the UK’s deputy chief veterinary officer, said: “Vector-borne diseases account for more than 17 per cent of all infectious diseases in humans worldwide, and mosquitoes and ticks are a growing threat to the UK due to the fact that. they are both established and invasive.
“Climate change, in the form of warmer summer temperatures and milder winters, could increase the abundance of native mosquito populations, extend the active vector season and enable invasive mosquito species to establish in the UK and increase their ability to spread disease transmission.
“Defra and UKRI are investing more than £7 million in a series of research projects to improve our ability and capacity to predict, understand, mitigate and avoid animal and human vector-borne disease threats.”
Click here to view this content.
