Rugby ace Matt has heart op after catching disease from a tick bite
FORMER England rugby hero Matt Dawson yesterday revealed how he needed heart surgery after being bitten by a tick.
The 44-year-old was diagnosed with Lyme Disease – a serious bacterial infection – following a family walk in Chiswick Park, west London, in 2015.
The World Cup winner’s son, Sam, four, was also battling meningitis during an “absolutely horrendous” period for the family and was treated at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Dawson said: “I had two days where I felt awful. After tests I came back positive for Lyme. It had got into my heart and created some scar tissue.
“I had to go for surgery on November 15 and again on June 16. That six to eight months – and of course I had little Sammy with meningitis – was absolutely horrendous.
“It was a really scary time for me and my family. Such a tiny creature caused me to end up needing heart surgery.”
The Question Of Sport star, who represented England 77 times and made seven appearances for the British and Irish Lions, still faces a long road back to full health.
Lyme Disease, which can lead to serious health issues such as heart failure or meningitis and in extreme cases can even be fatal, is passed to humans by infected ticks.
Common symptoms include a bullseye-shaped rash and flu. The condition can be treated effectively with antibiotics if detected early. Dawson, who is backing The Big Tick Project awareness campaign, said: “I’m still on medication and it’s going to take a lot of time for the heart to fully recover.
“This is not something that should be looked at like, ‘Oh, it’s only a tick – a tick is a bit like a flea. It’s fine’.
“These ticks carry some really quite potent, serious bacteria and they can cause you a lot of problems. Raising awareness of them is imperative.”
As many as 3,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme Disease every year, the NHS says.
Dawson admitted he was stunned by his diagnosis. He said: “I’d heard of Lyme Disease before. It was something which I’d always associated with places abroad, on the Continent, in America, wherever there were deer.
“There’s no way that I would’ve walked through a wood or a forest with my kids and gone back home and thought, ‘Right, I’ll just check for some ticks, just to make sure everything is fine’. I just wouldn’t have thought that.”
Television presenter Chris Packham, who is also backing The Big Tick Project, said: “It is really important that pet owners understand how they can treat their pets for ticks and reduce the risk of the further spread of these horrible, debilitating and potentially dangerous diseases to the UK.”