Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Is Tayside becoming a Scottish hotspot for Lyme borreliosis?

2011; SAGE Publishing; Volume: 41; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.4997/jrcpe.2011.102

2042-8189

Gillian S. Slack, Sally Mavin, David Yirrell, D O Ho‐Yen,

Yersinia bacterium, plague, ectoparasites research

in Dundee, representing infection in Tayside, and samples submitted to the NLBTL, Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, representing infection in Highland and the rest of Scotland, were studied.Archived data on patients' age, sex, month of sample submission, test request details and test results were collected and analysed for samples submitted from Tayside for B. burgdorferi testing from April 2001 to March 2010.Data were extracted from the local laboratory's computing system, LabCentre, and analysed in Excel.Archived data on samples submitted from Highland and the rest of Scotland for B. burgdorferi testing from April 2004 to March 2010 were extracted from the NLBTL computing system, Medipath, and analysed in Excel.Tayside and Highland refer to health boards in Scotland.Tayside covers the city of Dundee and the counties of Angus and Perth & Kinross.Highland extends from Argyll & Bute in the south to Caithness and Sutherland in the north.The rest of Scotland refers to all other health boards in Scotland with the exception of Grampian. Laboratory testsThroughout the study period, the two-step approach to laboratory testing was adopted in both centres. 7Samples were screened locally using a B. burgdorferi immunoglobulin (IgM/IgG) enzyme-linked immunoassay (EIA) (Zeus Scientific) according to the manufacturer's instructions.Confirmatory testing of EIA equivocal/ reactive samples was carried out by the NLBTL with an Is Tayside becoming a Scottish hotspot for Lyme borreliosis?ABSTRACT The epidemiology of Lyme borreliosis (LB) in Tayside was studied and compared with Highland (an area of high endemicity) and the rest of Scotland.From April 2001 to March 2008 the incidence of LB in Tayside rose from an estimated 2.57 to 5.84 per 100,000 population.In 2008/09 the incidence of LB in Tayside increased further to an estimated 13.85 per 100,000 population.This rise was significant and, although numerically less than that in Highland (37.24 to 49.69 per 100,000 population), it was proportionally much larger (137% vs 33%) and confirmed that LB in Tayside has diverged from that in non-endemic Scottish regions.The dramatic rise of LB in Tayside cannot be accounted for by changes in laboratory protocol or changes in the number or demographics of patients tested.However, changes in climatic conditions and alterations in clinical presentations may have contributed to this significant rise.