Funding from the European Space Agency (ESA) will help open a new front in the fight against a horrible disease, by helping people outdoors in the Highlands avoid potentially deadly tick bites.
A pioneering project will tackle the spread of Lyme disease spread by ticks, by providing digital information on where and how to avoid them.
Incidence of the condition has exploded in the last 20 years, ruining many lives. When left untreated, it can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system.
In 1994, there was just a single case of Lyme disease confirmed in Scotland. But by 2004 the figure had risen to 86. Health Protection Scotland recorded between 228 and 308 cases annually from 207 to 2011 and there are currently around 200 cases per year in NHS Highland's area alone.
This is Lyme Disease Awareness Month and there is a demonstration outside the Department of Health in Whitehall, London. A petition being circulated claims that in the UK, most doctors are still unaware of how serious and widespread Lyme disease is across Europe, and of how many cases must be going undiagnosed here.
The reasons behind the dramatic rise are unknown, so there is increasing investment in prevention.
But now the ESA has awarded £180,000 (€250,000) to a consortium to test the feasibility of LymeMap, a phone app and web-based system that will help to identify tick hot-spots.
People are at highest risk of contracting Lyme disease in woodland, grassland and moorland areas. Tick bites often go unnoticed and the tick can remain feeding for several days before dropping off. The longer the tick is in place, the higher the risk of Lyme disease.
The LymeMap system will use GPS technology to provide information on a user's location as well as details such as its height above sea level, temperature and ground cover. The person will be able to upload information on ticks and this will help to produce maps showing where they are most prevalent.
"Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne human disease in the UK, and the number of cases reported in Scotland has increased ten-fold in the past 10 years," said Roger Evans, a clinical scientist with NHS Highland, one of the agencies collaborating in the project. "If it is not diagnosed and treated properly, it can lead to a severe and debilitating disease.
"Unfortunately, health organisations have limited effective tools at their disposal to reduce the incidence of Lyme disease. Resident and visiting populations need an approach that will help them prevent getting Lyme disease and manage exposure to ticks. From a health and safety and an economic point of view, organisations and businesses that employ people exposed to infected ticks also need a better tool for preventing the disease."
He believed that by using the latest technology in this way an interactive and accurate Lyme disease identification and risk management system could be developed.
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