UKC

Some good news on Lyme disease vaccines. Two in the making and hopefully getting offered out in 2023/2024.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.timesunion.com/hudsonvalley/news/amp/new-s...

https://www.biopharma-reporter.com/Article/2021/03/08/Valneva-and-Pfizer-st...

This could be a really interesting one in terms of risk/benefit.

It's still a really rare disease, and if there are any significant side effects then it may not be worth it for most people.

From the covid vaccines, we can see that you need millions of doses delivered to even detect rare side effects.

That said, I'm pretty keen on vaccinations - I'd join the queue to get one considering my outdoor lifestyle. 

I'm not so sure that's true!  I suspect it's highly underreported and likely to get worse given the lack of sheep dipping etc..

I know more people who've had debilitating illnesses from Lymes than Covid...

Glad to hear they're finally on their way!

Aye, i will be first in the queue for this one

The most exciting vaccine news since last year!

Me too. Will give enormous peace of mind. I hate the feeling I should't be lying on the grass or even wearing shorts in the hills.

I wonder if this is true - I know several people who have tested positive for the antibodies, including me a few weeks ago although I don't remember ever having the symptoms of being infected (the circular rash, etc). It seems I might have had the antibodies for years, maybe decades, (my only other test was in 1990 which was negative).

I don't think it's that rare, it's just rarely fatal. I suspect many are living with mild symptoms and problems caused by it, but because of lack of awareness aren't tested. TBE is becoming more widespread too in Europe, but there is already an effective vaccine. 

Thanks all - happy to be corrected. 

Apparently the vaccine doesn't offer protection if you have already had the disease, but then again there are several different trials ongoing, so time will tell exactly what works and protects.

Excellent, having just finished a course of Doxycycline with all its delightful side effects thanks to a tick bite that went nasty I'll take anything that stops the little beggars from infecting me. 

I've had 100s of bites over the years despite wearing trousers, gaiters etc, they just like me! 

I know 6 people personally who have had Lyme disease and one of them has had it several times (he is a gamie). To put it in perspective, that's about as many people I know who have asthma. Maybe on a population level it is rare, but it's a daily hazard for people who live and work in the countryside.

I've never been bitten by a tick but I'd seriously consider it, it's looking like there are more of them all the time.  Presumably not on the NHS, but if the price is reasonable...

I got a load of huge blotchy reactions to bites once. One of them was a very classic bullseye so that made me go to the doctor.

I think the blood test only works weeks after infection. I had to have the antibiotics anyway as it's not good to delay for weeks. No side effects. The blood test came back negative.

In summary I have no idea if it was Lyme's disease. Only one bite was a very classic bullseye.

A situation not too dissimilar to yours': about a year ago, I happened to casually mention that I'd had a bullseye a while before (months, a year??)  People were a bit shocked that I'd done nothing about it (apart from forget). My partner made me go for a test and it was negative.

Decades ago, when I spent nearly every weekend in the hills, you never heard about ticks, apart from in relation to deer. But now it seems they're everywhere and there's no longer an excuse for complacency. Gotta take these little critters seriously.

Mick

I wonder if the vaccines for Lyme and TBE will actually be offered by the NHS.

  I think shingles affects one in four people, can be quite serious and is only offered by NHS to people aged 70 or 78 (or those under 80 who missed it). It's expensive to get privately....approx £200 I think. Hope it won't be similar for Lyme.

Having had both shingles and Lyme's last year I will take any vaccine/science juice/whatever to stop having both ever again.

Shingles was painful as hell and stopped me from going to sleep. Lymes made me lose almost 3 months before I was back to normal

I payed privately for the TBE one for Russian trips, and I seem to recall it was in the region of £200, but I certainly wasn't taking the risk of not having it! Given the number of ticks I get most years, I would definitely pay that too for Lymes. 

I wonder if they need participants for trials?

I seem to be a bit of a tick magnet, but then I do spend most days running through forest and/or walking the dogs. This time of year the dogs have at least one tick each after every outing so we're getting plenty of practice at lifting them off.

We were speaking to our vet and my wife mentioned she doesn't seem to get them, and he said that like biting insects they prefer certain blood types (I get bitten by allsorts) so I guess the risk isn't evenly spread.

I thought this, but then wondered how it would work. I certainly wouldn't want to be exposed to Lyme's disease and potentially be unvaccinnated (part of the double blind control sample) which would be the only way to truly test. 

It doesn't always have to be a bullseye. Mine was only very slightly paler in the centre and basically a large red angry blotch centered on the bite. Most reactions are pretty quick after being bitten (3-10 days) but anything up to 3 months is possible. My recent one was 4 weeks post bite so I was quite surprised when it appeared.  

I've had my TBE vaccine (three times in the first year) because I live in an area of Sweden that is something of a hotspot for it. Cost was about £25 per vaccine. Bargain. But for that, and Lyme, I would be willing to pay more. Neither seems like an appealing disease to have!