![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/RayMears.jpg\" "\\"RayMears\\"")
Tick-borne disease charity BADA-UK and Patron Ray Mears are warning walkers and outdoor enthusiasts to be especially vigilant next spring.<\/p>\nTick-borne disease charity BADA-UK and Patron Ray Mears are warning walkers and outdoor enthusiasts to be especially vigilant next spring.<\/p>\n
The charity is using its annual awareness campaign Tick Bite Prevention Week (26 March \u2013 1 April) to highlight the increased risk to outdoor enthusiasts in 2012 from tick bites and tick-borne diseases following the EU ban of the herbicide Asulam.<\/p>\n
Asulam is used by farmers to control the invasive spread of bracken which provides the perfect habitat for ticks. TV bushcraft and survival expert and BADA-UK Patron Ray Mears warns: “The control of bracken is vital to the survival of numerous species of flora and fauna as well as reducing tick populations. The spread of bracken as a result of this ban will lead to increased tick numbers making it all the more important that the public takes precautions against tick bites when out and about in rural areas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reports suggest that the tick population and its distribution is increasing, and with it comes the risk of contracting Lyme disease (borreliosis) and other tick-borne diseases. <\/p>\n
Ticks are second only to mosquitoes for carrying disease to humans worldwide. In the UK in 2010 there were 1,361 laboratory-confirmed cases of tick-borne Lyme disease, a 24.4% increase on 2009. The Health Protection Agency estimates a further 1,000-2,000 cases go unrecorded each year.<\/p>\n
BADA-UK, (Borreliosis and Associated Diseases Awareness-UK), a registered charity run by unpaid volunteers who have been affected by Lyme disease and associated infections, believes that public and professional awareness is key to combating the rise in cases of tick-borne disease.<\/p>\n
The charity advises that the best defense against tick-borne infection is to avoid being bitten in the first place by taking a few simple precautions when out walking.<\/p>\n
These include wearing suitable clothing that prevent ticks from accessing the body; use of gaiters, or tucking long trousers into socks, and choosing clothes with elastic or drawstrings at the waist, wrist and ankle, all help to deter ticks from crawling under clothes and attaching.<\/p>\n
Clothing made from smooth or waxed material is hard for ticks to climb whilst light-coloured fabrics make it easier to spot a tick. Wearing shorts in a tick habitat is just an invitation to be bitten!<\/p>\n
The charity also recommends using an effective insect repellent before setting out, walking in the centre of paths to avoid over hanging vegetation where ticks may be waiting, performing regular tick checks and carrying a tick remover.<\/p>\n
Wendy Fox, Chair of BADA-UK says: “We understand, perhaps better than most the devastating effects that tick-borne diseases can have, therefore we strive to help prevent others from falling victim to them.<\/p>\n
People who frequent bracken-rich areas can be recreationally exposed to tick-borne disease, particularly Lyme disease. Increased interest in outdoor pursuits, combined with an increasing tick population is resulting in a year-on-year rise in cases of tick-borne disease.”<\/p>\n
Tick Bite Prevention Week coincides with the onset of the tick season (March to October) and when people start to get out and about in the warmer weather promotes awareness of tick-borne diseases and effective tick bite prevention for all at-risk groups.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tick-borne disease charity BADA-UK and Patron Ray Mears are warning walkers and outdoor enthusiasts to be especially vigilant next spring. The charity is using its annual awareness campaign Tick Bite Prevention Week (26 March \u2013 1 April) to highlight the increased risk to outdoor enthusiasts in 2012 from tick bites and tick-borne diseases following the EU ban of the herbicide Asulam. Asulam is used by farmers to control the invasive spread of bracken which provides the perfect habitat for ticks. TV bushcraft and survival expert and BADA-UK Patron Ray Mears warns: “The control of bracken is vital to the survival…<\/span> <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6353,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-walking-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6351"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6351\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23739,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6351\/revisions\/23739"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Read more ›<\/div>\n