Is Lyme Disease Present in Beautiful New Zealand (NZ)?

I recently returned home to NZ the land of my birth and the country where I studied and practised most of my Microbiology. As I wondered through the beautiful bushland, farmlands, forests and country side I thought I had better update my knowledge about Lyme disease in NZ. In my days working in medical labs in NZ we certainly did not test for it and it was not recognised as a cause of concern. But has the situation changed?

Apparently not, because the Ministry of Health in NZ is not aware of any cases of people catching a disease from a tick bite in New Zealand. They state that the main diseases of concern in some other countries are not currently present in New Zealand. In some countries ticks have transmitted diseases such as: Theileriosis, caused by a protozoan pathogen (Theileria sp.); Lyme disease, caused by Borrelia bacteria, and Spotted fever, caused by Ricketsia bacteria.

The Ministry of health in NZ reiterates that these diseases are NOT actually present in NZ at the current time. So the risk of getting a disease from a tick bite in New Zealand is therefore very low, but there is the potential for this to change – for example, if disease carrying ticks arrive on travellers to New Zealand who have been in countries where they are present.

In NZ, the only cases of Lyme disease have been reported in people that have recently travelled from an endemic area.

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Ticks in NZ

New Zealand has endemic ticks which are native to NZ. They are found in NZ and nowhere else in the world. These species are host-specific and infest mainly birds. Endemic NZ ticks generally do not transmit diseases to humans. Ticks native to NZ are not thought to carry the Borrelia spp bacteria that causes Lyme disease.

However there are also introduced species of tick in NZ – the brown cattle tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis), which can infest warm-blooded mammals (such as cattle or humans). In some parts of the world the cattle tick is known as vector of animal and human diseases, such as tick borne fever, Japanese (Oriental) spotted fever, Russian spring-summer encephalitis. However, these diseases are not present in NZ.

The ticks found in NZ definitely have the ability to transmit pathogens, such as bacteria, protozoa and viruses. Fortunately, these tick borne pathogens are rare in NZ. However, since travellers could introduce tick borne diseases to NZ, there is a small risk that the ticks currently present in NZ could spread introduced diseases.

To date there is no evidence of Lyme disease borne endemically NZ. This land of All Blacks, sheep and hobbits is not yet the home of Lyme disease. But like everything else bad in this tiny land of glory (rats, possum, plant diseases) it could be introduced and medics need to be on the alert for emerging diseases.