Lyme Disease in the United Kingdom

The following background data on Lyme disease in the United Kingdom were abstracted from Gideon www.GideonOnline.com and the Gideon e-book series.  [1,2] Primary references are available on request. Time and Place: Lyme disease is reported from East Anglia, Scotland, Wales, Yorkshire and Northern Ireland.  Highest incidence is associated with popular holiday destinations such as Exmoor, the New Forest, the South Downs, parts of Wiltshire and Berkshire, Thetford Forest, the Lake District, the Yorkshire moors and the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.  “Hot spots” for the disease include the New Forest and the Southwest region.  45% of reports originate in three contiguous counties in southern England:  Hampshire, Wiltshire and Dorset.  This area includes foci in and near the New Forest and Salisbury Plain. Other counties with a relatively high incidence include Devon and Somerset in southwestern England; and Norfolk in East Anglia. Incidence: Reporting rates in the United Kingdom are approximately 39% of true incidence (2011).  Case reports peak in the third quarter of each year, which accounts for 48% of all cases. In the following graphs, I’ve contrasted case numbers and rates per 100,000 in the United Kingdom, with those reported in Ireland and the United States.  Note that highest disease incidence in the United Kingdom is reported from England and Wales;  and highest rates per 100,000 from Scotland.  Reported rates in the United States are appr...
Source: GIDEON blog - Category: Databases & Libraries Authors: Tags: Ebooks Epidemiology Graphs lyme disease United Kingdom Source Type: blogs