Lyme disease fears in Highlands amid call for nationwide action

But the health body said data is incomplete and it called for a large study into the condition across the UK.

Better information on incidence, presenting clinical features, management and outcome of Lyme disease both in hospitals and GP services will mean that services can be tailored to suit those infected.

Around five per cent of ticks in Scotland are infected with borrelia, the bacteria which triggers Lyme disease in humans.

The number of new cases in Scotland has surged from 30 in 1996 to 220 in 2015.

Although it is treatable if caught early, it can lead to potentially deadly complications such as heart failure without treatment.

Around 10 to 20 per cent of patients also go on to develop a what is known as post-treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome, and suffer severe debilitating neurological problems, fevers, flu-like symptoms, painful joints, heart conditions, and total exhaustion.

But there is no agreed treatment and the condition is often misdiagnosed for other illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome.

Now a new draft guideline from Nice states: “Infected ticks are found throughout the UK and Ireland, and although some areas appear to have a higher prevalence of infected ticks, prevalence data are incomplete.

“Particularly high-risk areas are the Scottish Highlands but infection can occur in many areas.”

It has also set out a series of recommendations on how the condition can be assessed and treated.

These include diagnosing people who present with a distinctive rash - often described as looking like a bulls eye on a dart board - without needing to refer them for further tests.

The bacterial infection, caused by infected ticks, can lead to conditions such as meningitis or heart failure if left untreated.

Ticks can be found in woodland and heath areas and are normally carried by deer.

The careful management of deer and hare numbers on Scottish grouse moors is also another technique used to control tick numbers and the spread of disease.

Recent research found that if deer populations are managed alongside woodland regeneration projects, tick populations and the risk of Lyme disease can be reduced.

On an estate in the Speyside region, a recent tick control programme led to the number of deer on the estate being reduced and sheep treatment carried out on a flock of 2,700 sheep.

Throughout the programme, tick numbers were seen to drop from as high as 35 on a single grouse chick to between one and 10.

Professor Saul Faust, professor of paediatric immunology and infectious diseases at the University of Southampton who also chairs the guideline committee, said: “Lyme disease may be difficult to diagnose as people can have common and unspecific symptoms, like a headache or fever, and they may not notice or remember a tick bite. Our draft guidance will give GPs and hospital doctors clear advice on how to diagnose if they think Lyme disease is a possibility,”

A Scottish campaign calling for improved testing and treatment of Lyme disease has been backed by gamekeepers and grouse-moor managers.

Patients whose lives were made a misery by the disease want GP’s to be better trained to spot the early signs of the disease and a campaign to raise public awareness.

One sufferer Lorraine Murray went from competing in Olympic-distance triathlons to spending 18 months in bed after she contracted Lyme disease from a tick bite while out walking her dog in August 2014.

The former British Army physical fitness instructor, from Montrose, fell ill almost immediately.

Mrs Murray said: “I remember the date clearly as at the time I became ill I was away celebrating my 10th year wedding anniversary with my husband, I spent four days in a hotel room bed unable to move. A few days before, I had a little black thing at the top of my leg but didn’t realise it was a tick.”

Mrs Murray has now founded the Tick-Borne Illness Campaign Scotland, which is petitioning the Scottish Parliament for better treatment for Lyme disease and related infections.

CASE STUDY WHEN former England rugby captain Matt Dawson went to a GP saying that he thought he had Lyme disease the doctor ruled it out after checking on the internet.

Dawson said the delay in diagnosis damaged his heart and he eventually needed two operations.

The 44-year-old says he was "wiped out for a year" when he caught the disease from a tick picked up in a park in London and he is urging people to check themselves for the parasites if they have been on a walk.

Dawson, who was a World Cup winner with England in 2003, said he did not notice that he had been bitten while training in Chiswick park in 2015.

Later his wife, Carolin, suggested that his itchy back could be Lyme disease caused by a tick bite.

He said: "I put it off for a couple of weeks then went to a GP. I suggested Lyme disease and he was just sort of looking on the internet."

"As the weeks went by it just got bigger and bigger," said Dawson, who eventually had the condition confirmed by a private blood test.

He believes that his ordeal might have been avoided if his rash had been treated "when it was the size of a 10p piece as opposed to the size of a side plate".

A spreading rash is the main symptom of Lyme. The bacteria multiplied and eventually reached Dawson's heart, causing scarring and inflammation. He needed an urgent heart procedure to correct its rhythm, which had to be repeated seven months later. While he now feels "pretty good" and is able to play golf and cycle again, he is still not as fit as he was.

Dawson is supporting the Big Tick Project, which aims to raise awareness of the risk to humans and pets of Lyme disease. While he says concern should not put people off getting out in the open air he is encouraging them to check their "nooks and crannies" for ticks after a walk in the woods and parks.