Many thanks to Morven-May MacCallum for a very informative recent webinar on Lyme Disease Awareness, which is available to watch at any time here. More resources are available on the LDUK website – help spread the word and Be Tick Aware during May, Lyme Disease Awareness Month.

Morven-May has provided some useful information and links:

Recommended tick repellent: Pyramid

Recommended tick removers: Tick Twister

A couple of books, Finding Joy and Keeping Joy, by Morven-May MacCallum about living with Lyme Disease; she would be delighted to hear people’s thoughts on them.

In response to a question about the proportion of ticks that carry Lyme Disease: “On average, approximately 4% of ticks are infected in England and Wales, although this range can fluctuate in different areas and across years, and can be on average as high as 8-10% in some areas. Since data collection began in 2005, there has been a gradual increasing trend in cases of Lyme disease, although yearly fluctuations have been observed, particularly since 2018. You can access regular reports on the UKHSA website. [Source] Personally, I think this is a conservative estimation as we know there are areas which are hot spots for Lyme.”

Since the webinar a study has been published showing that, within woods in SW England, ticks in pheasant release areas are nearly 2.5 times more to likely to carry the Borrelia bacteria that cause Lyme disease than ticks in control woods. The pheasant release woods also had a greater abundance of adult ticks. The study’s authors, from the University of Exeter and UKHSA, say that they will continue to research what drives the transmission of the bacteria.