The Times (UK) ALARM AT SHARP RISE IN TICK DISEASE
- From: "LymeRayja" <lymerayja@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 30 May 2005 12:40:14 -0700
May 30, 2005
The Times Online
Alarm at sharp rise in tick disease
By Valerie Elliott, Countryside Editor
HEALTH experts are concerned at a sudden increase in the number of
British cases of Lyme disease, an infection carried by ticks that can
be fatal.
In Scotland the number of sufferers went up 35 per cent between 2003 to
2004. In England and Wales there were 97 cases 10 years ago and 320 in
2003. Specialists believe that the true incidence could run into
thousands because people, doctors and vets do not know much about it
and do not seek treatment.
Patricia Hewitt, the Health Secretary, is under pressure to raise
public awareness of the disease and to ensure that GPs and medical
students are taught about it.
Some believe that she should make it a notifiable disease in England
and Wales, as it is in Scotland. British military personnel and their
families already have to notify their medical service if they get it.
Anyone who goes to the countryside is at risk of infection. The disease
can also be picked up in parkland where there are deer. City-dwellers
who visit parks such as Richmond, Bushy or Victoria are at the same
risk as a stalker in the Highlands or a visitor to a stately home.
British hotspots are Thetford forest in Norfolk, the New Forest in
Hampshire, the Lake District, the Yorkshire Moors, the Scottish
Highlands and the uplands of Wales.
But it is also widespread in the United States, Germany, Hungary and
the Netherlands and exists on every other continent too. Between 10 and
20 per cent of British victims are thought to have contracted the
disease abroad.
Many people may be carrying the antibody after a tick bite years ago,
but showing no symptoms. In those cases the full-blown disease can be
triggered by another illness or severe stress.
It causes a rash and stiffness in the joints and, left unchecked, it
can affect the central nervous system, causing tingling in hands and
feet, or facial palsy. In the worst cases the disease can also affect
the heart, liver and spleen and even lead to encephalitis, which can
kill. Depression and chronic fatigue grip many patients and ruins their
lives.
The symptoms are not identical for every sufferer though - Lyme
disease imitates other diseases, which makes it difficult to diagnose.
People should be alert for ticks attaching to the skin and remove them
as quickly as possible.
In particular, it is necessary to take care if you are near cattle,
sheep, deer, horses and even game birds and seabirds. They can be
carried also on hedgehogs, mice and voles.
Dr Darrel Ho-Yen, a Lyme disease expert based in Inverness, spoke of
his concern about the rise in the number of cases in this month's
edition of The Field magazine. He believes that the known number of
proven cases should be multiplied by ten "to take account of
wrongly-diagnosed cases, tests giving false results, sufferers who
weren't tested, people who are infected but not showing symptoms,
failures to notify and infected individuals who don't consult a
doctor".
He believes therefore that in a year in Scotland the numbers have gone
up from 430 to 580. Applying his multiplier to England suggests that
there are 3,200 cases today.
The Ramblers' Association has issued urgent guidelines and a new
leaflet has been sent to riding schools and trekking centres by the
British Horse Society. The UK Lyme Disease Association will hold a
special conference at Sheffield University next month.
THE SPREAD OF INFECTION
# Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. It is
also known as Lyme borreliosis and was named after a cluster of cases
that occurred in Old Lyme, Connecticut, in the United States, in 1974
# People get infected after being bitten by hard-body ticks (Ixodes
species) that have the disease. Ticks get it from birds and mammals
carrying the bacterium in their blood
# The most common symptom is a rash called erythema migrans, though
some patients have flu-like symptoms. This is treated with antibiotics
such as doxycycline or amoxicillin
# Infection can lead to facial palsy, "viral type" meningitis and
nerve inflammation that may lead to tingling in hands and feet, pain or
clumsiness. Some people develop arthritic symptoms, which can settle
with antibiotics, others experience persistent arthritis
# It may be a trigger for chronic fatigue syndrome (ME) or
fibromyalgia, a post-infection syndrome
# There is no vaccine for Lyme disease
# Peak exposure in Britain is April to October
# Ticks are tiny spider-like creatures that cannot fly and are common
in woodland, heathland and moorland. Unfed ticks are the size of a
poppy seed but they blow up to the size of a grape pip when they have
been feeding. Larvae are smaller than a pinhead
# The risk of infection from an infected tick is low if it is removed
from the body within 24 hours of attachment
.
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