Latest News
06.12.09 - Prince of Wales backs deer ‘tick mop’ plan.
The Prince of Wales is backing plans to use deer as “tick mops” in countryside frequented by walkers to curb the spread of Lyme disease, a deadly infection.
21.11.09 - Lyme disease - the danger that can lie in wait on an innocent country walk.
Our weather has been warm and wet, the perfect climate for ticks - those blood-feeding parasites - to multiply. Although vets are aware of the dangers of tick bites to animals, humans are also at risk from Lyme disease - a vicious infection that attacks the immune system and can cause paralysis, encephalitis and meningitis.
07.11.09 - Forget hospital, Mum takes son to the Vet's.
A MOTHER who rushed her son to hospital with a strange insect bite was forced to wait so long for treatment that she took him to a vet instead.
06.11.09 - Toddler with tick under his skin is treated by a VET.
A TODDLER who was taken to hospital after a tick burrowed under his skin, ended up being treated by a vet. Vanessa Marsden took her 19-month-old son, Daniel, to the children’s accident and emergency department at the Royal Bolton Hospital after discovering the blood-sucking parasite on his head.
02.11.09 - Ticks – the mini-vampires lurking in the countryside.
There’s a simple reason why there are unlikely to have been any victims of vampires over Halloween: there’s no such thing as a vampire. Despite the concerns of some Christian groups, Halloween is just a time of fantasies and fun, disowned as a serious event by those fringe groups who are seriously interested in matters of the occult.
28.10.09 - Tests Continue On Local Woodland.
Mystery still surrounds the reason why a number of dogs fell ill or died shortly after visiting a part of local woodland. Four dogs died and another fourteen were ill after they went to Haywood Oaks near Blidworth earlier this month.
26.10.09 - Dad battles deadly tick bite illness after Lake District trip.
A FATHER-of-two is seriously ill with the potentially life-threatening Lyme Disease after being bitten by a blood-sucking parasite while in the Lake District. Father of two, Kevin Slater, 48, was walking in Grisedale Valley, Patterdale, when he was bitten by a tick.
07.10.09 - Lyme Disease warning for walkers and campers.
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.
08.08.09 - Royal College of Nursing - Lyme disease: A Clear and Present Danger.
Thanks for this article go to WENDY FOX, Chair of Borreliosis and Associated Diseases Awareness UK (BADA-UK), a charity promoting understanding and prevention of Lyme disease.
Before embarking on a trip, travellers obviously should take health protection into account. Many opt for vaccination against diseases, generally associated with travel abroad, but few realise there is an increasing threat within the British Isles, and one that is not vaccine preventable.
11.06.09 - Tick tock – time to tuck trousers in your socks.
TICK numbers are on the increase because of climate change, but the Lyme disease they carry is not putting visitors off coming to the Borders, says VisitScotland.
03.06.09 - Tick bite warning for holiday scots.
The trend towards ‘staycation’ holidays under canvas could lead to a rise in deadly diseases carried by ticks, experts warned yesterday.
01.06.09 - Campers warned about tick bites.
Campers planning to holiday under canvas in the Highlands have been warned about the risk of contracting serious illness from tick bites.
The Tick Alert campaign group said there were 285 cases of Lyme disease in Scotland last year, compared with only three recorded cases in 1999.
28.05.09 - Lyme disease: A patient's story.
More British people are choosing to holiday in the UK this year and for many, that means camping in the great outdoors.
Whilst the odd bug and midge bite is unavoidable, there is the more serious threat of Lyme disease, which can be caught from ticks. It is not always easy to diagnose, with many of its symptoms similar to those of the flu, but its effects can last a long time.
27.05.09 - Tick disease plea to moor users.
People going camping or walking on the North York Moors are being urged to take precautions to prevent them being bitten by ticks. The Health Protection Agency said in 2008 there was an increase in cases of Lyme disease, a tick-borne infection.
21.05.09 - Lyme disease cases continue to rise in England and Wales.
The number of reported cases of lyme disease in England and Wales has increased for the fifth year running, according to figures from the Health Protection Agency.
21.05.09 - Ticking off for holidaymakers.
A RISE in camping holidays in the north of Scotland could bring more cases of lyme disease, a city health specialist has warned.
Hazel Middleton, a travel health adviser at Edinburgh's Masta travel clinic, said the credit crunch meant people were taking more domestic holidays, but two-thirds of people do not take precautions against ticks, leaving them vulnerable to a range of illnesses.
21.05.09 - Travel health specialist warns of the dangers of ticks.
Holidaymakers choosing camping trips in the Highlands should beware of the danger of ticks, a north-east travel health specialist said yesterday.
Barbara Evans, of Aberdeen’s Masta Travel Clinic, said tick-borne diseases were on the rise and that campers and others enjoying outdoor pursuits should know about potential dangers and take suitable precautions. Tick bites can lead to diseases with serious long-term health problems.
21.05.09 - Walkers warned Lyme disease could be on the rise.
A MORAY GP has warned walkers Lyme disease could be on the rise after a huge increase in the number of cases. Ed Borrowman, of Fochabers Medical Practice, has treated eight patients in the last two years after four years without a single case. He admitted the disease is difficult to detect, meaning the real number could be much higher.
14.04.09 - Chester woman tells of decade of suffering after tick bite
A Chester woman is calling for increased awareness about ticks after suffering with Lyme disease for more than a decade. Joan Crawford, contracted the disease, also known as Borreliosis, when she was a child after being bitten by an infected tick.
08.04.09 - Lyme disease sufferer to warn children of risks.
A MORAY man who has suffered from Lyme disease for 10 years is to give a talk to children about how they can avoid it. Andy Illston, 39, was a full-time firefighter and hillwalker until he contracted the disease after being bitten by a tick. He began suffering from flu-like illnesses and stomach bugs, but did not immediately link it to the tick bite.
07.04.09 - A keen Newbury walker talks of the debilitating consequences of a bite.
A NEWBURY woman has spoken about the devastating effect a tick bite has had on her life, leaving her housebound and unable to work as an infection ravaged her health. Lisa Hole, aged 41, from Pear Tree Lane, described how her life became unbearable as she battled for six years before she finally found a private doctor who diagnosed Lyme disease or Borreliosis, an infection caused by a bite from a parasite that can be found anywhere in the country.
12.02.09 - Once Bitten.. Dr. Adam Smith, Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust.
Jane Fields (Medical Matters, 10 February) was lucky to survive her bout of tick-borne fever in Zimbabwe. But we here in Scotland mustn't be complacent about tick-borne diseases. Our research with Oxford University has highlighted the sharp increases in tick numbers in many parts of the country. And where there are more ticks there is a greater risk of being bitten by a tick carrying a disease.
15.01.09 - It ticks all the right boxes for scientists.
Scottish scientists believe blood-sucking ticks may hold the key to a host of health breakthroughs. After parasites attach themselves to human and animals hosts, a serious feed can see the insect swell to 100 times its own body size. The process can spread illnesses including Lyme disease, which can develop into psychiatric and cardiac problems, even leading to death. Animals can also suffer paralysis and sudden death.
However, scientists now believe the properties which allow the ticks to ‘hide’ from their hosts could lead to major new medicines. Dr Alan Bowman, of Aberdeen University, said ‘Ticks have this neat trick where they feed on their host for two weeks and are able to do so unnoticed. We are trying to find the factors that allow their saliva to deliver anticoagulants, anti inflammatories and painkillers to host which means the animal is not aware it is being feasted on. ‘If we could mimic these properties, it may help us fine new therapies for conditions like thrombosis, as well as new anti-inflammatory and auto-immune treatments.’
14.01.09 - Ticking timebombs exposed in new book.
They may look small and harmless enough but if left unchecked they spell disaster for the world’s livestock population. In fact it is estimated that only Europe, northern USA and Canada would have viable livestock industries if ticks were not controlled. Elsewhere cattle would be decimated.
But ticks don’t just spread disease and paralysis to animals. The bugs also pose a risk to human health. People bitten by ticks – if they are carrying Lyme disease – can go on to develop arthritis and neurological problems if the infection is not treated in the early stages.
