'Lives are being put at risk': 97% of GPs have NOT had recent training on Lyme disease which could reach epidemic levels, experts warns

  • Only 3 per cent of GPs in the UK have taken the training module
  • Course teaches them how to spot early symptoms of the potentially fatal disease
  • Officials say there are 2,000-3,000 cases a year in the UK
  • But charity estimates there may be as many as 45,000 a year

By CLAUDIA TANNER FOR MAILONLINE

Published: | Updated:

Lives are being put at risk because the majority of GPs have not completed any recent training on Lyme disease, which is on the rise in the UK.

The stark warning comes as experts predict up there will be up to 45,000 new cases in Britain each year. 

And incidences of the potentially deadly disease are thought to be increasing by 65 per cent per year worldwide.

There are fears Lyme disease - a bacterial infection spread to humans by infected ticks - could be officially classed as an epidemic within the next decade.

Lyme Disease UK (LDUK) has revealed only 3 per cent of GPs had completed a free continuing professional development (CPD) module on the disease offered by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP).

Natasha Metcalf, co-founder of the patient group, said: 'Lives are being put at risk because the overwhelming majority of GPs are not updating their knowledge about Lyme disease.

'Lyme can be a very debilitating illness if not diagnosed and treated early. 

'GP awareness is crucial to prevent further long term, disabling disease.' 

Serious symptoms may develop several weeks, months or even years later following a bite if Lyme disease is left untreated or is not detected early on

Serious symptoms may develop several weeks, months or even years later following a bite if Lyme disease is left untreated or is not detected early on

The course trains GPs to recognise early symptoms if the disease, which include a bull's-eye rash, fever, headaches and fatigue.

It also equips them to identify late symptoms, to be able to offer advice on prevention of the disease and how to begin appropriate treatment to minimise the complications of the condition.

Spotted quickly, Lyme disease is treatable with antibiotics. But if left untreated it can trigger joint problems, heart problems, chronic pain and neurological problems. For some, it can even be fatal.

Public Health England (PHE) has suggested around 2,000-3,000 contract Lyme disease a year. However, charity Caudwell Lyme says the figure is a drastically higher at as many as 45,000. 

An early-stage sign is a distinctive circular rash at the site of the tick bite, usually around three to 30 days after being bitten

An early-stage sign is a distinctive circular rash at the site of the tick bite, usually around three to 30 days after being bitten

The discrepancy between these figures highlights how the true number is unknown.

Campaigners claim that the condition can go undiagnosed by NHS tests, leaving hundreds of thousands at risk of a chronic form with crippling and terrifying effects.

Charity Lyme Disease UK point out that the condition is often mistaken for chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis.

There have been numerous headlines recently about people struggling to get a diagnosis and treatment as blood tests to spot the infection are often inconclusive. 

WHERE ARE TICKS FOUND IN THE UK?

Cases of Lyme disease have been reported throughout the UK, but areas known to have a particularly high population of ticks include:

  • Exmoor
  • The New Forest and other rural areas of Hampshire
  • The South Downs
  • Parts of Wiltshire and Berkshire
  • Parts of Surrey and West Sussex
  • Thetford Forest in Norfolk
  • The Lake District
  • The North York Moors
  • The Scottish Highlands

Source: NHS Choices  

Advertisement

GPs are required to collect a minimum of 50 continued professional development credits in a year in order to revalidate their licence every five years. 

The RCGP, the professional membership body for family doctors in the UK and overseas, said it would not dictate the specific learning that under-pressure GPs individually undertake. But instead, it advised GPs in rural areas to consider choosing the module. 

Chair Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard said: 'Lyme disease is potentially a very serious disease that is increasingly found in rural areas of the UK and abroad, but isn’t often seen in urban locations.

'In the best interests of patient care, it makes sense for time-poor family doctors to tailor their learning according to the health priorities of patients in their local communities - whilst, of course, being aware of all important medical conditions.' 

Most tick bites happen in late spring, early summer and autumn because these are the times of year when most people take part in outdoor activities, such as hiking and camping. 

MOTHER-OF-TWO TWO LEFT BED BOUND AFTER TICK BITE AT BBQ

Simtee Few, pictured with her two children, Emily, four, and Oliver, three, developed flu-like symptoms days after a family gathering in July 2015

Simtee Few, pictured with her two children, Emily, four, and Oliver, three, developed flu-like symptoms days after a family gathering in July 2015

A mother-of-two has been left almost bedbound after she was bitten by an insect at a family barbecue two years ago.

Simtee Few, 32, from Harlow, Essex, developed flu-like symptoms days after a family gathering in July 2015.

As weeks went by, her condition worsened. She started to suffer from palpitations and a tingling sensation that resembled a stroke. 

Mrs Few said: 'It was like someone was squeezing my brain. It was so bad, it was affecting the way I was talking and I couldn’t put sentences together.'

Doctors eventually diagnosed her with Lyme disease - a serious bacterial infection - after a year of testing.  

Mrs Few said: 'It was like I was drunk all the time'

Mrs Few said: 'It was like I was drunk all the time'

Desperate for answers, she paid £1,000 for tests at the private Breakspear clinic, based in Hemel Hempstead and the results came back positive. 

She was forced to resign from her job and drop out of her studies as she fought to find out what was wrong.

Currently she takes 60 tablets a day and is forced to maintain a strict diet to control her horrific side effects. 

The only treatment available on the NHS for Lyme disease is a course of antibiotics, which must be administered in the first two weeks after being bitten.

Sadly, it was too late for her and her only option was to try private treatment.  

She and her husband Laurence remortgaged their home to pay for treatment, which included pulsating antibiotics - where the antibiotics are given at a very high dose at regular intervals.

Now she wants to visit a specialist clinic in Germany for treatment as she believes a cocktail of vitamins will help heal her and improve her quality of life.

'There is no cure, but I am determined to do everything I can to control it,' she added.

'I had never heard of Lyme disease and had no idea something as tiny as a tick would turn my life upside down.' 

To donate to Mrs Few's GoFundMe page, click here.  

Advertisement

 

NHS

Most watched News videos