Many of you will remember Episode 115 when I spoke with Morven-May about Lyme Disease and the impact it had on her life, along with ways to avoid tick bites.

May is Lyme disease Awareness month and to promote awareness of this is Morven-May  has passed some more information onto me which I wanted to share will you all.

Firstly here are links to her books that are available on amazon. I know she would be delighted to hear people’s thoughts on them.

Lime Disease UK website  https://lymediseaseuk.com/ provides some great resources on the disease, avoidance etc.

Morven-May has also collected some data on tick infection rates. You might recall in the podcast we talked about stats on infection rates, along with the sheer number of ticks that can be found in the countryside. Here are some more interesting data.

 “On average, approximately 4% of ticks are infected in England and Wales, although this range can fluctuate in different areas and across years, and can be on average as high as 8-10% in some areas. Since data collection began in 2005, there has been a gradual increasing trend in cases of Lyme disease, although yearly fluctuations have been observed, particularly since 2018. You can access regular reports on the UKHSA website.”

Personally (Morven-May), I think this is a conservative estimation as we know there are areas which are hot spots for Lyme.

I think this makes a lot of sense as I know from my experience of being out in woodlands round the country, insect and wildlife populations vary greatly. Locally we have a high population of larger mammals (deer, badgers, foxes) all of which are potential carriers. Other areas where there is less human impact or footfall is likely to be even more populated, and it is often these areas where championships are often held.

Here are some other useful sources of information that Morven-May has supplied

UK Health Security Agency – https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2024/03/21/what-is-lyme-disease-and-why-do-we-need-to-be-tick-aware/

Tick repellent options https://www.pyramidtravelshop.co.uk/tick-protection-48-c.asp

Removing ticks correctly is very important and here is a lint to tick removers: https://www.otom.com/en/

Once again I would like to express my thanks to Morven-May for her time and expertise.

Stay safe and enjoy your archery.