Support our fundraisers!

Through COVID lockdowns we have been working with researchers to try to move some of our projects forward, but we have no time to launch fundraising events ourselves. We are supremely grateful to those who do this job for us and spend time and energy training and then cycling or running. They take part in […]

more...

News on a Lyme disease vaccine

Can we prevent Lyme disease? A vaccine for Lyme disease has now progressed to a large human trial. Valneva’s VLA15 vaccine, in joint development with Pfizer, is designed to be effective against all strains of Borrelia, so the trial will include 6,000 people from both Europe and the USA. Read Valneva’s announcment. Small trials of […]

more...

COVID-19 v Lyme disease

You’ve been outside in your garden, or neighbouring park or countryside, perhaps spending a lunch break sitting on the grass. You don’t feel at all well. You think of COVID-19, and check the NHS website. Not conclusive. What else might it be? Try to avoid contact with others, as recommended, but if it doesn’t go […]

more...

Lessons to learn

Here is a very interesting case study amongst those recently added to our reference library. A young boy in Ukraine had a tick bite and was treated with doxycycline for 4 days “to prevent development of Lyme borreliosis”. 3 months later he had arthritis in one knee, but he had recently fallen so that was […]

more...

A new antibiotic?

A new antibiotic, found in soil, may be useful in treatment of Lyme disease, though more research is needed. Several interesting points came out of the recently published paper. Does this work in humans, as it seems to work in mice? Will it leave a patient’s beneficial gut bacteria untouched? Does protection of the gut […]

more...

A selective antibiotic for Lyme disease

Key points A new antibiotic has been discovered which only affects spirochaetes (the family of bacteria including Borrelia). This antibiotic does not seem to affect the beneficial bacteria in the gut, which would make it safer than commonly used treatments for Lyme disease. If continuing Lyme disease symptoms post-treatment may be caused by a disrupted […]

more...

Our first webinar

We have taken the decision to move into the Webinar Age, rather than just sending you another newsletter. This way you can hear directly from us and from others who are doing the work on which our Lyme disease progress (such as it is) depends. Our first webinar is to give you an update on […]

more...

How important are co-infections in the UK?

They are important, because having more than one tick-borne infection can make diagnosis and treatment more difficult. However, these other infections are nothing like as common in UK ticks as they are in other European countries or in N America. See our page on Tick-borne diseases.

more...

Is person-to-person transmission possible?

Although the bacteria that cause Lyme disease have been found in body fluids, there is no hard evidence of person-to-person transmission. The bacteria have to be injected into the blood stream, which is where the tick comes in. The tick also injects immunosuppressive chemicals which can prevent the immune system from recognising and dealing with […]

more...

Can Lyme disease be transmitted sexually?

There is no scientific evidence that Lyme disease is transmitted sexually. Experiments with animals have repeatedly failed to transmit disease in this way. Although the bacteria have been found in vaginal secretions and in semen, it is a big step from that to causing infection. The most likely explanation of partners, or several members of […]

more...