SINGAPORE – As a city-state at the intersection of migratory bird routes, Singapore faces a rising threat of tick-borne diseases, flagged a recent symposium here dedicated to the blood-sucking parasite.

After mosquitoes, ticks are considered to be the second-most concerning living organism that can transmit human diseases, scientists warned at the end-August event to unpack the risks posed by ticks in South-east Asia, where they have historically been poorly understood.

Addressing some 100 researchers at the two-day event, a leader at the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) highlighted Singapore’s vulnerability amid an increasing trend of diseases spreading across the globe through migratory birds parasitised by ticks.

Studies in Singapore and abroad have found that ticks can hitch a ride on these birds, presenting a pathway for them to spread their disease-causing agents far away from the regions that these foreign species typically call home.

This risk is compounded by the expansion of green spaces, nature reserves and wildlife corridors, which create new chances for ticks to encounter humans and animals, said Associate Professor Pek Wee Yang, CDA’s deputy chief executive for policy and programmes.

In a bid to boost South-east Asia’s approach towards tackling the arachnid, scientists from 21 countries gathered from Aug 28 to Aug 29 to discuss the latest research and best practices for handling ticks and their diseases.

Notably, the second edition of the South-east Asia Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases Symposium, held at the National University of Singapore, revealed that a potentially fatal tick-borne disease had been detected in humans for the first time across the border in Malaysia.

This marks a further spread of the severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) southwards beyond Thailand, despite a lack of evidence that its main disease-spreading carrier – the Asian longhorn tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis) – can thrive in tropical environments.

The infectious disease native to North Asia ...