In recent years, the hunting tick, or Hyaloma marginatum as it is also called, has become more and more common in Europe. It has also been discovered in Norway.
The hunting tick is three times as large as a normal forest tick, runs after its prey, and is the main carrier of a bloody viral disease called Crimea-Congo.
The Swedish virus researcher Ali Mirazimi says Aftonbladet that the hunting tick has been discovered in places it has not previously traveled before.
– We see more and more of it in the world, something we think has to do with climate change. The tick thrives better and better in other areas than before. When the tick moves and establishes itself, there is a risk that some of them carry the infection, and that there is a risk that the infection will spread among the hunting tick.
The virus researcher also says that a tick can lay 1000 eggs. So if a hunting tick is infected, 1000 new ones can suddenly carry the virus.
Giant tick found: Runs after prey
Detected several cases of infection
– In 2002, there were almost no cases of Crimean Congo in countries like Turkey, but now they report about 1000 cases every year, Mirazimi says.
He also adds that several cases of infection have been detected around Madrid in Spain every year since 2017.
– You should be careful when you are out in nature, in contact with animals or sick people in areas you know that the hunting tick exists, says the Swedish virus researcher.
Mirazimi believes that one should be extra careful in Eastern Europe, Turkey, Spain and some parts of Greece.
Contact a doctor before this
Outbreaks in Iraq and Iran
– An outbreak of Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever is now taking place in Iraq, and cases have also been reported from Iran. Travelers to Iraq should protect themselves from tick bites, avoid contact with domestic animals and their body fluids, as well as ingest unpasteurized dairy products and raw meat.
sea view
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This is what Tone Kristin Bjordal Johansen, a senior researcher in bacteriology at FHI, tells Dagbladet.
The virus can cause disease with fever and flu-like symptoms. There are various symptoms of those who become infected, from mild illness to serious illness. The course of the disease varies, and improvement is most often seen after 9-10 days.
In severe cases, bleeding is seen in the skin, from body openings and other organs. Of those who become ill, the mortality rate is stated to be between 20 and 40 percent.
Found tick-eating parasitic wasp
Not worried
Senior researcher for pest control at FHI, Arnulf Soleng, says that the hunting tick is not a problem in Norway as of today.
– As the climate is in Norway, the hunting tick can not form viable populations here, Soleng says to Dagbladet.
The tick center also does not show concern for the hunting tick.
