How common is Lyme borreliosis in the UK?
An average of around 800 laboratory-confirmed cases are now reported annually to the Health Protection Agency (table). Most confirmed cases are acquired in the United Kingdom. Areas where infections are acquired include Exmoor, the New Forest, the South Downs, parts of Wiltshire and Berkshire, Thetford Forest, other southern woodland or heathland areas, the Lake District, the Yorkshire moors and the Scottish Highlands, but any area harbouring ixodid ticks may have the potential for Lyme borreliosis transmission. About 20% of confirmed cases annually are reported to have been acquired abroad – in the United States, France, Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, and eastern European countries. Estimates suggest that between 1,000 and 3,000 cases of Lyme borreliosis occur in the United Kingdom each year.
