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Eye in the sky: satellite-based observation to protect life on Earth
October 06, 1999EMBARGOED UNTIL WEDNESDAY 6 OCTOBER 1999 19:00 BST
UK CONTACT - Claire Bowles, New Scientist Press Office, London:
Tel: 44 20 7331 2751 or email claire.bowles@rbi.co.uk
IF PHEASANT shooting were to be banned, Britain could quickly be rid of its most important tick-borne human disease. So claims Klaus Kurtenbach of Oxford University, who says Lyme disease is only found in Britain because pheasants are reared in artificially high numbers.
Lyme disease, caused by bacteria of the genus Borrelia, occurs throughout the northern hemisphere. Ten species of Borrelia have been identified, three of which cause human disease. Each produces slightly different symptoms.
In North America, rodents are the animal host for a variant of Lyme disease caused by B. burgdorferi. In people its symptoms include arthritis and neurological problems. The predominant species found in Britain, B. garinii, causes encephalitis-inflammation of the brain-in severe cases. It is adapted to birds, rather than mammals.
B. garinii will thrive only where both its bird hosts and tick vectors are found in sufficient numbers, Kurtenbach told the British Veterinary Congress in Bath last month. "Without artificial rearing of pheasants it would almost certainly disappear from the UK within a year," he says.
The pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) was introduced into Europe from Asia as a game bird in the Middle Ages. About 20 million pheasants are now reared and released in Britain each year for shooting, mainly in southern England.
Lyme disease is not a notifiable disease in Britain, so there are no reliable statistics on its incidence. But researchers at Southampton General Hospital have been collating information. They record about 60 cases a year, though they suspect the true incidence is much higher. Most people who catch Lyme disease become infected while walking in woodland areas where ticks and pheasants are most common. Hot spots include the New Forest, Exmoor and Thetford Forest in Norfolk.
Author: John Bonner
http://www.newscientist.com">New Scientist issue 9th October 99
PLEASE MENTION NEW SCIENTIST AS THE SOURCE OF THIS STORY AND, IF PUBLISHING ONLINE, PLEASE CARRY A HYPERLINK TO : http://www.newscientist.com"> http://www.newscientist.com
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