Research sign posts also open to young people

Signposts also

Children who suffer from Lyme disease after a bite of a tick can now also participate in a national investigation. They can log in via the Tekenradar.nl site or their GP. Participants are followed for a year. With them, blood is being taken and they have to fill out questionnaires about the disease, treatment, and complaints, as reported by the RIVM knowledge and research organization on Friday.

The research into Lyme's disease has been running since 2015, and there are now six hundred adults involved. Every year, about 25,000 people get Lyme's disease, one-quarter under the age of 18. The disease is transmitted by the infected sign. The spider-like animal occurs in bushes, grass, and other greenery. They bite into the skin to suck the blood out. Not everyone who gets bitten gets Lyme because about one in five signs is infected.

The researchers want to know why some patients do not have long-term complaints despite treatment with antibiotics.

July is the month in which most signposts are reported.