Ticks and Lyme disease in Australia?

[LandSailor]

I've attached a PDF article taken from Sydney Morning Herald magazine last year. It discusses the possibility of tick-borne Lyme disease existing in Australia. This idea is still considered controversiaI (and I certainly have no expertise in this area) so use your own judgement. The bottom-line is that it may be worth considering taking a course of tetracycline antibiotics immediately after a tick bite.
I'm guessing for some of our intrepid readers this would mean they are permanently on antibiotics the whole year round!
Anyway it is worth a read....

[DarrenM]

Interesting read!
I've come across similar info while researching other controversial medical issues. Some people become incredibly knowledgable from spending huge amounts of time researching the causes of their symptoms.
I get bitten at least 40 to 50 times a year on the northern beaches of Sydney. I feel fine! Itchy little buggers though!

[LandSailor]

Interesting read!
I've come across similar info while researching other controversial medical issues. Some people become incredibly knowledgable from spending huge amounts of time researching the causes of their symptoms.
I get bitten at least 40 to 50 times a year on the northern beaches of Sydney. I feel fine! Itchy little buggers though!

50 times a year! yowza. This snake must be from the northern beaches too

[DarrenM]

Incredible pic!

One of our clients sold up and moved due to the frequency of bites their young ones were receiving while playing in the backyard. The property backs on to the bush. Plenty of snakes too!

[Onestepmore]

As far as I know Lyme disease is still on the lst of 'exotic' diseases in Australia for humans. It's not a bacteria, but a rickettsial organism, a spirochaete. As a veterinarian it has been on our diffential diagnosis lists (mainly dogs)for some time, with postive recordings (not by me personally, but anecdotally). Up until recently samples for people had to be sent overseas to the USA for confirmation (and yes there have been postivies) but I think some of the local labs run serology tests for it now. I think one of the issues is Work Cover related claims by outdoor workers who suffer Lyme disease-like symptoms from tick bites when working outdoors eg groundsmen, council workers. Once it is officially recognised it opens up a huge range of potential claims. I recall seeing a 6.30pm trash TV show featuring ths problem of recognition a little while ago, with a few people around the Mid North Coast.
It was certainly on the list of things to be ruled out by my doctor when we were investigating some clinical signs (fatigue, fever and rheumatoid arthritis like symptoms) my 15 year old daughter was exhibiting. As it was, she has persistent mononucleosis (Glandular fever)

[LandSailor]

As a veterinarian it has been on our diffential diagnosis lists (mainly dogs)for some time, with postive recordings (not by me personally, but anecdotally). Up until recently samples for people had to be sent overseas to the USA for confirmation (and yes there have been postivies) but I think some of the local labs run serology tests for it now.

Interesting...seems to be a lot of smoke on this, probably is some fire. If Lyme disease is endemic in Europe and shearwaters regularly migrate from Europe to north coast of NSW, its not a huge stretch to suppose that Lyme might exist to some degree however small, here in Oz.

[DarrenM]

I was told by a client a while back that she had Lyme disease and had moved house because of the bites she had received in the garden. I didn't know a great deal about it at the time and didn't ask any questions which I now regret. She had a range of obscure problems.

I receive most of my bites around St Ives in Sydney and try to use a spray if Im working in those areas. I can only imagine the politics in regards to work cover and claims.