|
Ticks and Tick bourne diseases such as Lyme Disease and TBE are on the increase. In England and Wales 684 cases of Lyme Disease were reported last year, and Scotland has seen a tenfold increase in numbers over the last decade, with 177 cases reported in 2007. It is now estimated that a further 3000 cases go unreported each year.
If you or your pet get a tick attached, it is extremely important to remove it quickly and safely. If the tick is held incorrectly on removal, it can regurgitate it’s stomach contents back into the bloodstream increasing the risk of disease. All commercially available tick removal tools will work if used correctly. The most important thing is to remove the tick slowly, so as to minimise damage, and to grip the head parts of the tick, not the body.
Some manufacturers of tick removers suggest that ticks will be bigger on a pet than a human, but this is only because pet owners do not generally check their pets daily, giving the tick time to feed and grow. A nymph stage tick the size of a pin head is the most common bite size and is easily overlooked. Most humans will feel the small lump when inspecting their bodies, but obviously this is not as easy on a pet. As a one size fits all solution, the Trix easily removes nymph stage ticks reliably and is probably the only tool on the market that was designed to do this from day one.
Areas where infection has been acquired in the UK include popular holiday destinations such as Exmoor, the New Forest, the South Downs, parts of Wiltshire and Berkshire, Thetford Forest , the Lake District, the Yorkshire moors and the Scottish Highlands, but the infection can occur in other areas where ticks are present
Ticks are nasty blood sucking parasites related to the same family as spiders.Ticks are quite small and hard to detect as they inject a chemical that numbs the bite area. Ticks can feed up to 7 days with out causing irritation.
Ticks are most active between April and October, but this period can be all year round in the southern counties.
The following links will provide you with much greater detail...
http://www.bada-uk.org/index.html
http://www.tickpreventionweek.org/
http://www.masta-travel-health.com/tickalert/
http://www.lymediseaseaction.org.uk/index.htm
http://www.scottishgamekeepers.co.uk/ticks.htm
http://www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/zoonoses/lyme_borreliosis/menu.htm
|
