UK Lyme disease cases might be 3 times higher than compared with previous estimates, says a new study.
After conducting an analysis on the medical records of 8.4mn anonymous people from all over UK, the researchers forecast that total cases of Lyme disease in the country may top up to 8,000 this year than previous estimates ranging between 2000 to 3000 annual cases.
The study discovered that 50 percent of the Lyme disease cases took place from June to August. Over the period studied, Scotland recorded the highest no. of Lyme disease cases, at 27 percent of total. The authors of the study suggest that the reason behind this could be Scotland’s wetter climate as well as popularity among hikers. Moreover, the south and south-west of England also had a higher no. of cases than average.
According to study lead author Dr. Victoria Cairns, with such increase in the no. of cases, it is now important to caution people with the help of GPs as well as more public awareness.
Cairns said that she hopes the study would help encourage people to incorporate more of preventative measures as well as bring quicker, in time diagnoses.