What we are doing about tick bite–associated illnesses

Senate inquiry

In 2016 the Senate referred the issue of tick-borne illness in Australia to the Senate Community Affairs References Committee for investigation.

The committee published their final report on 30 November 2016. The Australian Government published a response to the senate inquiry in 2016.

All 12 recommendations and results from the 2016 Senate Enquiry are in progress or completed, with the remaining long-term research project still ongoing. The main results include:

• an evidence-based clinical pathway and multidisciplinary care model for patients presenting with DSCATT.
• education and awareness resources to help health professionals and the public. Resources will advise on tick bite prevention, tick removal and help readers better understand tick-borne illness in Australia.
• research by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) to:
  • Carry out a tick survey to better understand the bacteria, viruses and other pathogens carried by ticks
  • Find out the effects of these pathogens on human health
  • Create a case study biobank from DSCATT patients for biomarker discovery.
• awarding of grants by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) through a Targeted Call for Research to:
  • The University of Melbourne to explore new research for treating unexplained syndromes linked to tick-bites in a randomised trial.
  • Murdoch University for research on Troublesome Ticks: Determining the aetiology of DSCATT in Australia.
• A one-off grant to the Lyme Disease Association of Australia (LDAA) to give advocacy and crisis counselling services for patients presenting with DSCATT.

Tick survey

In 2019 we engaged the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) to conduct a tick survey.

The survey looked at the types of bacteria and viruses Australian ticks carry and the impacts they have on human health.

CSIRO completed the tick survey in July 2021 and the published results are available on the Wiley Online Library.

Biobank

In 2019 we engaged CSIRO to build a biobank of samples from DSCATT patients.

CSIRO can then analyse these samples to identify possible indicators of disease.

CSIRO also completed the biobank in July 2021 and we have published the preliminary findings.

Research

We have engaged CSIRO to expand on the findings of the tick survey and tick biobank projects. This research project is underway with results expected at the end of 2024.

The Australian Government also supports research into DSCATT and tick-borne illness in Australia through the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

In 2018 the Government provided $3 million to the NHMRC to fund research into the nature, prevalence and causes of DSCATT.

Professor Peter Irwin from Murdoch University is conducting research to determine the causes of DSCATT.

Professor Richard Kanaan at Melbourne University is undertaking a research project to develop a new treatment for DSCATT.

Overseas-acquired tick-borne diseases

For information on tick-borne diseases endemic to other countries, from the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control see the following table:

Historical information

Our archived website contains details of previous work we have done to better understand DSCATT and tick-borne diseases.