No excuse for Lyme ignorance

I NOTE, somewhat despairingly, that the danger from tick bites leading to Lyme disease and its consequences is still lacking in general recognition by the NHS (“NHS ticks advice is missing the mark say Lyme disease patients”, The Herald, May 3) with comments by sufferers totally apposite.

This is despite it being 10 years since this was first raised in The Herald (“Scottish sufferer in Lyme disease Whitehall protest”, May 10, 2013 and Letters, May 11 and 13, 2013). I myself wrote in as regards my late wife, who was told by a hospital specialist that her arthritis was the likely result of being bitten by a tick whilst holidaying in the Western Isles. He warned this was only one symptom and could lead to other developments which, sadly, it did.

Whether climate change is increasing the risk of such bites is debatable but the self-same specialist told of it originating in a town in Connecticut, USA, that gave its name to this condition. Therefore one suspects it has been around for some time.

John Macnab,

Falkirk.