Question reference: S5W-26486
- Asked by: Peter Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 21 November 2019 Registered interest
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Current status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 3 December 2019
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to comments by a senior clinician from the University of Glasgow’s School of Veterinary Medicine that "the presence of B. venatorum in the UK represents a new risk to humans working, living, or hiking in areas with infected ticks and livestock, particularly sheep.”
Answer
The risk of contracting this infection is believed to be low, Lyme disease remains the most commonly acquired tick borne infection in Scotland. The best way to minimise the risk from tick-borne infections is to avoid being bitten by a tick.