The number of cases of tick-borne Lyme disease in the UK have been significantly underestimated, according to an analysis published today.
Dr Carlos Martinez of the Institute for Epidemiology, Statistics and Informatics, in Frankfurt, Germany, and colleagues estimated the prevalence of the disease because figures from neighbouring countries suggested the current UK rates might be too low.
They used the Clinical Practice Research Datalink which covers 658 primary care practices. In total, this provided information on 8.4 million people from 2001 to 2012.
This showed that cases of Lyme disease “increased rapidly”, with an estimated rate of 12.1 per 100,000 individuals per year by 2012. This gave an estimated UK total of 7738 Lyme disease cases in 2012.
Findings appear in BMJ Open today (31 July). The authors write: “Lyme disease was detected in every UK region with highest incidence rates and largest number of cases in Scotland followed by South West and South England.
“If the number of cases has continued to rise since the end of the study period, then the number in the UK in 2019 could be over 8,000.”
They conclude: “The incidence of Lyme disease is about threefold higher than previously estimated, and people are at risk throughout the UK. These results should lead to increased awareness of the need for preventive measures.
"Greater awareness of the risks may also lead to more rapid diagnosis and treatment which is important to prevent long term morbidity."
Incidence of Lyme disease in the UK: a population-based cohort study. BMJ Open 31 July 2019 doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-025916
http://bmjopen.bmj.com/lookup/doi/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-025916
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