Lyme Disease Cases in England Rise 22 Percent in 2025

Laboratory-confirmed cases of Lyme disease in England rose 22 percent in 2025 compared with the previous year. The UK Health Security Agency recorded 1,168 confirmed cases, up from 959 in 2024. The 2025 total was similar to the 1,151 cases reported in 2023.

The UK Health Security Agency published the figures in its One Health vector-borne disease surveillance report. Two probable cases of tick-borne encephalitis were also identified in 2025, bringing the total of locally acquired cases to six since the virus was first identified in the UK in 2019.

Dr Claire Gordon, head of the rare and imported pathogens laboratory at UKHSA, said case rates vary year to year depending on awareness, testing rates, and weather. Gordon added that ticks have shown an increasing geographical distribution across the UK, though numbers continue to fluctuate with weather conditions, climate trends, habitat changes, and host populations.

Lyme disease is caused by Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria carried in the gut of ticks found in grassy and wooded areas.

Lyme disease include a bullseye rash, fever, muscle and joint pain, and lethargy. Untreated cases can become chronic, and some patients report ongoing symptoms even after antibiotic treatment. Rapid removal of ticks after a bite is thought to reduce infection risk.

Several pharmaceutical companies are developing new vaccines and treatments. Moderna is testing an mRNA vaccine in phase 2 trials. Pfizer and Valneva have a vaccine candidate that showed more than 70 percent efficacy in a phase 3 trial and is being submitted to regulators.

Tonix Pharmaceuticals is developing a monoclonal antibody for pre-exposure use. Linden Hu, professor of immunology at Tufts medical school, is working with Tarsus Pharmaceuticals on a drug called lotilaner that kills ticks before they transmit bacteria.

A previous Lyme vaccine, LYMErix, was available in the US until 2002 but was withdrawn after low uptake linked to limited recommendations and concerns about arthritis. Julia Knight of Lyme Disease UK said it remains unclear whether a vaccine would be widely adopted in the UK given current case numbers and vaccine hesitancy.