Lyme Disease Cases Increasing in Holland

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) By Andrew Conaway – The incidence of Lyme disease has doubled in the Netherlands in the past seven years, partly because more people are camping in areas where disease-carrying ticks are common, Dutch Holland, Netherlands Lyme Diseaseofficials report.

In a survey of doctors throughout the country last year, researchers found 13,000 reports of Lyme disease. In a similar study in 1995, doctors reported about 6,500 cases, according to researchers at the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) and Wageningen University.

Lyme disease is an inflammatory disorder that can cause fever and chills, neurologic and cardiac complications and arthritis. Ticks that feed on infected deer, mice or dogs pick up the bacteria that cause Lyme disease. A bite from an infected tick can transmit the disease to humans.

People who play, live or work near large nature areas or forests face a higher risk of becoming infected with Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes the disease, Dr. Wilfrid van Pelt told Reuters Health.

The greatest increase in infections was seen in the generally rural provinces of Brabant, Limburg and North-Groningen. These provinces have also seen a rise in the numbers of people camping out–the report’s figures show a three-fold increase in the numbers of tourists visiting these areas.

“The most important thing is that many people have second homes next to nature preserves in these provinces,” van Pelt told Reuters Health. “People should recognize the signs of infection and check each other after walking in those kinds of areas.”

The infection first appears as a rash at the site of the tick bite, and an infected person can develop flu-like symptoms. If left untreated, Lyme disease may cause heart, joint and nervous system problems.

While 10 percent of people infected with the bacteria do not develop symptoms, care should always be taken after walking areas where ticks are known to carry the disease, van Pelt said.

“I think that what the government can also do to help is marking these areas and make the public more aware of the signs of infection,” he added.

Although ticks are found mostly in wooded nature preserves, the study also pointed out that high concentrations are seen in the sandy area of Veluwe in the eastern part of the country.

The report has been published on the Web site for the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, www.rivm.nl.

One of the best known Lyme doctors in Holland is Dr. Fred Kuipers, http://www.kuipershealth.nl/. Reportedly, he has quite a long waiting list to see him.