Spring is here - and so are the ticks

May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month and the charity, Lyme Disease UK, is urging the public to look out for these dangerous arachnids.

 

Lyme Disease UK’s annual Wake Up To Lyme campaign aims to raise awareness of how to prevent tick bites and what you should do if you are bitten.

 

Lyme disease is an infection caused by a spiral-shaped bacteria, predominantly spread to humans through the bite of an infected tick.

 

A tick waits on a blade of grass for a human or animal to brush past it, transfers onto the host, then crawls to find a warm spot to embed itself into. They inject a local anaesthetic which means their bite is painless and often attach themselves to the hairline, axillae or groin areas of the body so many people don’t realise they’ve been bitten.

 

Dr Beth Purse, principal investigator of TickSolve, said: “Risks from tick-borne diseases are rising across Europe as a result of increases in woodland cover and deer numbers and climate change. To tackle the problem, we need to better understand why people are more likely to get bitten by ticks in certain woodlands and whether this risk can be reduced through land management, for example, by introducing vegetation or fences that reduce deer movement or tick numbers."

 

It is thought around 10 per cent of ticks in the UK carry Lyme disease so if you’ve been bitten, it’s important to keep an eye out for symptoms that may develop during the coming days, weeks or months.

 

The most obvious sign of Lyme disease is a rash, often referred to as a bull’s-eye rash, however, it could have a solid or bruise-like appearance and look different on darker skins.

 

Not everyone develops a rash, so it’s important to look out for other possible symptoms of Lyme disease including summer flu, headaches, stiff neck, facial palsy - especially in children - fatigue, joint and muscle pain and generally feeling unwell.

 

For more on Lyme Disease Awareness Month visit lymediseaseuk.com/2023/03/30/lyme-disease-awareness-month-2023

 

 

Caption: Ticks are a pest in the countryside.