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I hope this hasn't been done already but there is an interesting article on using bacteria phages to develope a new diagnostic test for Lymes Disease in the MOD magazine, Sanctuary.
Page 35 if you are interested in ticks and things
Interesting and looks promising from their early results. Makes a huge amount of sense to get a viable early test. Good luck to them.
Thanks, interesting.
Interesting magazine. Not just for that, but also articles on MOD land access and management, in particular on page 18, 44 and 48.
Anyway, always wondering about Lyme disease and symptoms. I know people who ride similar places to me saying they're always removing ticks, though I've not noticed any myself but do wonder about some other symptoms going on if there's anything related but they're not the obvious ones. Have had what I've considered to be horsefly bites but do wonder there though I don't think they're ticks. Would be good to have a simple effective test though to rule it out.
articles on MOD land access and management
Yes, it often has articles on access which don't always reflect what happens in practice.............
The trouble with using biologicals such as phages in diagnostic tests is maintaining quality control of the testing process however 30% to 90% increase in sensitivity is huge (if specificity isn't altered and this wasn't mentioned).
Thank you for posting this natrix. Lyme disease is often accompanied by co-infections so presumably these wouldn't be included.
Sanctuary magazine used to be published quarterly in print, it's always been a good and interesting read with some lovely pics.
BBC article reporting new NHS advice that Lyme can be diagnosed from bullseye rash alone without waiting for tests. Helpful if you have a bullseye rash, but I think you can have Lyme without necessarily having the rash, so I hope it doesn't get applied the wrong way round.
Inaccuracies in BBC article, one major one is that there are no definitive tests and those used by the NHS have only around 50% accuracy. Not everyone has the bull's eye rash (erythema migrans).
Just to add that the NICE Quality Standard for Lyme disease is undergoing consultation and the public can comment. Link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-qs10076/consultation/html-content-2
Link to easy to read info on NICE guideline:
https://caudwelllyme.com/what-does-the-nice-guideline-for-lyme-disease-say/
The NHS needs to wise up a long way on Lyme Disease. My daughter (complex medical needs / poor immunity) got a nymph tick (higher risk) on an island with plenty of red deer (higher risk) off the Argyll Coast (high risk area) last summer (high season). We only spotted it a couple of days after the visit (increasing the risk).
I removed it cleanly with tick tweezers and tested the tick for Borreliose with the Care Plus kit. It tested positive so I phoned NHS 24, explaining all of the above circumstances. 'Keep an eye on it. You only need to seek medical attention if a bullseye rash or fever develops'. Dangerously incompetent advice in the circumstances. I spoke to my own GP who prescribed antibiotics without delay.
Unfortunately downshep advice given can be variable but the NICE guidelines do set out what the clinician must follow. In an ideal world everyone would have this printed out or a link on their mobile for handy reference when presenting to a clinician, after all there is only a small window of opportunity where antibiotics can really help. How is your daughter now?
Just to add that the BBC have now 'updated' their article with information that's been corrected, thanks to the efforts of Lyme disease charities.
Fascinating magazine and thanks c_g for the info on Lymes.
On the basis that there isn't always a rash, the test is totally unreliable, the tic was full of blood and I knew the tic had been there for at least two days - my doctor was pragmatic and followed this protocol:
Antibiotics.