Is the Sverdlovsk region threatened by an invasion of mutant ticks, which have been talked about in the media?

      "Mutant ticks" turned out to be a hoax. Scary news about "mutant ticks" that supposedly run fast and can see their prey from 10 meters away appeared in the media. But this is not true. It refers to a long-known species of ticks - Hyalomma, which have long inhabited the south of Russia, for example, in the Krasnodar region. There are no more of them than usual.

      According to scientists, these are warm-loving steppe ticks that prefer open spaces. They are found in the southern regions of Russia and Kazakhstan and are not something unusual.

      As Professor Alexey Gilev from the Department of Biodiversity and Bioecology at UrFU told in a conversation with "KP-Ekaterinburg," this tick loves open spaces. In Russia, its species has always been in the area of Dagestan and the Krasnodar region. The Middle Urals is not a suitable place for such ticks. It is too cold for them here.

      They differ from ordinary ticks in that they move faster, actively search for prey, are larger in size, and have characteristic striped legs.

      Like other ticks, Hyalomma can carry dangerous diseases, including Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever. However, such ticks are not suitable for the Urals due to the climate. They may occasionally appear by chance - for example, they can be brought by birds, but they cannot live and reproduce here permanently.