Lyme Disease warning for walkers and campers

Oct 7 2009 by Helen Rae, The Journal

PEOPLE walking or going camping are being warned to be on their guard after a dramatic increase in the number of suspected cases of Lyme disease.

Since 2003 the number of laboratory-confirmed cases in England and Wales have been rising, with 815 cases recorded by the Health Protection Agency last year. That includes almost 30 in the region.

And veterinary charity PDSA is urging pet owners to be on their guard after seeing a 150% increase in the number of suspected cases of the viral disease in pets, which can then affect owners too.

Dr Edmund Ong, consultant in infectious diseases at Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Each year we see dozens of people in the region with Lyme disease.

“However, the UK does not have nearly as big as problem with the illness as America does – which sees up to 20,000 diagnoses of the disease each year – and I don’t see the condition spiraling out of control in the UK.

“Ticks can stay on a person’s body for up to two days so people need to check themselves after they have been out walking. If they do find a tick they must remove it, making sure the head of the tick is gone. That should be sufficient to avoid any risk of infection.”

Lyme disease is transmitted by a tick bite that carries the bacterium Borrelia burgdorfei. The most common symptom of Lyme disease is a slowly expanding rash, which spreads about five to 14 days after the sufferer is bitten by a tick.