Publisher's Synopsis
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection caused by various species of Borrelia. These are all spirochaetes (spiral-shaped bacteria), that can in certain circumstances change into a cyst-like form that is very hard to detect. The disease is in most cases caught when a juvenile tick about the size of a sesame seed latches onto your skin with its legs and pushes its chelicerae (cutting tools) and feeding tube through your skin. It also secretes a numbing agent to help it avoid detection. It stays attached for up to two days as it drinks a huge amount of blood in comparison to its body size. The longer it stays attached, the greater your chances of getting Lyme disease, assuming of course that the tick is one that has Lyme disease itself. Most ticks do not. So if you are bitten by a tick, the chance of getting Lyme could be anywhere between 1-30%, but in the UK the percentage chance of getting Lyme is normally on the lower end of this range. Ticks that carry Lyme disease are found in most regions of the UK, especially Scotland and the south of England. Those that intend to infect you are found at the top of long grasses from where they can attach to your clothing or bare legs. They like wet temperate conditions and will be more prevalent after wet weather. In hot, dry conditions, they are more likely to be found on logs or in leaf litter.
