What is Lyme disease? The silent killer affecting over 3000 Brits a year

Lyme disease affects thousands of people in the UK but not many know anything about it

AVRIL LAVIGNE is a celebrity sufferer, but Lyme disease is no joke - there's 3,000 new cases occurring in the UK every year, but do you know what it is?

Lyme disease is rarely discussed but affects thousands of sufferers across the world - all from the bite of a tick
In the United Kingdom, Lyme disease is known to be carried by several ticks living on animals, including a sheep tick, a Hedgehog tick and a dog tick.
While usually insect bites in the UK are harmless, this tick-bourne illness can lead to serious complications.

NewsNewsBlog.blogspot.com spoke to Stella Huyshe-Shires, the Chairman of Lyme Disease Action, about what the symptoms are and how to treat the disease.
She said: "[Lyme Disease is} an infectious disease transmitted to humans by ticks. It is treated with antibiotics. Early treatment is more likely to be effective."

She confirmed one picks up the disease "from the bite of an infected tick" and is a bacterial infection entering the body.
Stella said: "It is not contagious. As far as anyone knows it is passed to humans only by tick bites. It is not passed from person to person.
"However, ticks also pass it to animals and pet dogs and cats as well as horses are known to suffer from the disease."
She added: "The ‘No Bite Is Right’ campaign by Bayer Animal Health is helping to raise awareness of the threat posed to our companion animals."

e Chairman said she couldn't put a figure on the numbers of people in the UK suffering from Lyme disease.
"Only those cases with positive blood tests are counted, and these amount to about 1200 per year.
"It is known that many cases are diagnosed at the rash stage, without a blood test and many cases go uncounted."
The most common symptoms of Lyme Disease in adults are:

• 'Flu like symptoms of aching, fever, headache
• Fatigue
• Sweating
• Joint pain
• Light and sound sensitivity
• Abnormal skin sensations (tingling, numbness, itching)
• Stiff neck
• Erythema migraines rash.

More information can be found at: http://www.lymediseaseaction.org.uk/

A rash similar to this could appear if you're bitten by a tick carrying Lyme disease

A tick like this lives on sheep, dogs and foxes - and it could be carrying Lyme disease

If you contract Lyme disease you could die from the infection