Ticks (the parasite)

In message <[email hidden]>, Stuart <[email hidden]>
writes

Quoted message said:

Came accross this article in the recent Casbag magazine, certainly something
to think about http://www.stuartstuart.fsnet.co.uk/misc/temp.gif

There was an article in The Times on this yesterday and I happened to
see Tony Robinson demonstrating how to use a tick removal tool on the
Time Team programme on Green Island in Poole Harbour:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1633334,00.html
======================================================
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
======================================================
--
Goalie of the Century

On Tue, 31 May 2005 11:00:16 GMT, Goalie of the Century
<[email hidden]> wrote:

| The risk of infection from an infected tick is low if it is removed from
| the body within 24 hours of attachment

Perhaps First Aid Kits for outdoor use should include a tick remover?

--
Dave Fawthrop <dave hyphenologist co uk>
Beware of anyone posting X-No-Archive yes,
they must have something to hide or something to be ashamed of.
Your task, should you wish to accept it, is to determine *what*.

Dave Fawthrop said:

Perhaps First Aid Kits for outdoor use should include a tick remover?

Mine does. They're available from your local vets, are easy to use and
work well. Ross is, unfortunately, a tick-magnet and we usually take
removers with us for hiking and wild camping, practically always for
orienteering.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/