Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to improve the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of Lyme disease.

There are several studies and projects being undertaken in the United Kingdom looking at the prevalence and distribution of Lyme disease. Examples include two studies undertaken in association with National Institute of Health Research. One is focussing on studying the evolution of the disease in patients, and the second is examining the evidence of exposure to the Lyme disease bacteria in the English population.

Clinical advice for general practitioners (GPs) and hospital physicians on Lyme disease is available from the National Health Service. Most cases are diagnosed based on clinical signs by GPs, and laboratory testing is widely available for more complicated cases.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) provides Lyme disease laboratory testing services for England and Wales and issues detailed advice on sample testing.

Lyme disease is treatable with a course of antibiotics in accordance with national guidelines. However, if left untreated, the infection can spread to affect the nervous system, joints, or the heart. More information on the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/lyme-disease-guidance-data-and-analysis#laboratory-diagnosis

The UKHSA’s Be Tick Aware toolkit provides information resources to enable local stakeholders to deliver public health information on ticks and tick-borne disease prevention directly to their population and visitors. The toolkit is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/642e966bfbe620000f17ddbe/Be_tick_aware_toolkit.pdf