Any Questions to pose at a Lyme Disease meeting?

[Suzy R Sopham]

Recently I've noticed a drastic increase in Lyme Disease. In a practice where I work we have had 18 cases this year.
I am concerned that us Orienteers act too blasee about this, and considering I removed 22 ticks after the event at Haverthwaite last week, I am now almost leaning towards the view that orienteers should have yearly screening for Lyme Disease!

This Thursday I will be attending a meeting on Lyme disease chaired by Dr Andy Wright, who is the UK leading expert on this.
Does anybody have any questions they wish me to pose?

I know there have been previous threads on Lyme disease etc, but I think this is a very important subject. For shock value:

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/70290.html

[Oldman]

Not sure if these are well-known and there are answers, but some suggestions:

1. Is there any way, apart from asking/observing those who have been out in the terrain, of knowing whether an area has a low, medium or high risk of ticks?

2. What is the Lyme disease to tick incidence? ie does it depend on the area, or is one in (say) 20 ticks infected everywhere.

3. Are there any precautions one can take to prevent getting ticks (apart from not orienteering of course!)?

4. Is there any prophylactic intervention measure available for Lyme disease(eg tablets, injections, immunisations?)

5. Should one always expect visible or other symptoms, or can the disease be "invisible"?
If it can be invisible, should one do anything if ticks are found? or only if symptoms occur?

6. What is the latest information that can be given to all orienteers about how to detect Lyme disease.

[roadrunner]

I'd add:

7. Does it reduce the risk if the ticks are removed soon after becoming attached (and if so, how soon to make a difference)?

[Kitch]

8. Is the disease caught from bigger, mature ticks only (i.e. they have bitten already and taken on the bacteria) - if so does that mean 'virgin' ticks do not carry the bacteria ?

i.e no need to worry about the insy winsy tiny little ones that have never bitten anyone (assuming that size is a reliable indicator),
Is it possible to assess risk from the size of the tick ?
or am I talking rot ?

A risk chart of the UK would be brilliant.

9. Is there a list of centres of expertise, or expert doctors across the UK ? I'm not sure most GPs take it seriously.

10. Any latency to detecting the bactiria ? (I know one Edinburgh victim who had classic symptoms and got the blood test - proved negative, so didn't get treated straight away.) Anything we can say to get a treatment - given apparent symtoms but no positive blood test ?

11. Where do ticks get the bacteria from ?

12. When would be best to get a precaustionary test ? October ? November (some time after the biting season )

[graeme]

Is there a real increase in occurrence Lyme disease, or just an increase in diagnosis?

I believe that after its discovery in Connecticut, Lyme showed all the signs of a classic, slowly spreading epidemic, but in fact the spread was of knowledge/identification among doctors rather than the disease itself (which was endemic through the USA).

[Suzy R Sopham]

I think Grame is absolutely correct. I believe most GP's would only remember Lyme Disease as something they were taught in Microbiology/Pathology, and have not ever seen a case.
I also believe that, until a few years ago, tests were not that accurate at detecting Lyme disease, however now with PCR(Polymerase Chain Reaction) tests they are far more reliable.

I am hoping to print all these questions off and try to get him to answer them all; so any more Q's?

[Homer]

Yes. Do you have any immunity having had the disease in the past?

[d]

We should all be collecting our ticks every Sunday and sending them off to this bunch of researchers...

http://www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics ... ording.htm

Then we might get an accurate assessment of tick distribution and how infectious they are, and the medical profession might start treating it seriously.