Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people in the UK currently suffer with Lyme disease.

In England, Wales, and Northern Ireland there are approximately 1,000 to 1,500 laboratory confirmed cases every year, and in Scotland there are approximately 500 laboratory diagnosed cases.

Previous studies have shown that there are approximately 2,000 additional cases of Lyme disease per year that are not laboratory confirmed in England and Wales. Lyme disease is more common in Scotland, and Southeast and Southwest England, compared to other parts of the United Kingdom such as Northern Ireland, and cases peak in the spring and summer months.

Lyme disease is not a notifiable disease in the UK so the exact number in the community is unclear, as many patients are diagnosed with Lyme disease clinically, without sending samples for testing. Further details on Lyme disease are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/lyme-disease-guidance-data-and-analysis