Incidence of Scottish Lyme disease appears to be related to the effects of weather on tick survival and human behaviour

This  paper  investigates  the  annual  variation  in  the  Lyme  disease infection rates seen in different areas of Scotland from 1999 to 2003. We suggest that the combination of a warm, wet January to March (aiding tick survival) and a dry  April  to  July  (favouring  increased  human  exposure)  explained  the  increased incidence  of  Lyme  disease  observed  in  certain  years  during  the  study  period. Human behavioural changes brought about by the countryside access restrictions enforced during the Foot and Mouth disease epidemic may have had an additional influence  on  the  incidence  of  Lyme  disease  in  the  East  of  Scotland  during  2001. This paper helps in our understanding of Scottish Lyme disease.