Debilitating Lyme disease is a growing concern in the Netherlands. A patients’ association has collected more than 65,000 signatures calling for government action on the tick-borne disease.

The Dutch Association for Lyme Patients wants to put Lyme disease on the parliamentary agenda. Its petition calls on the government to improve training for doctors in diagnosing the disease, set up a Lyme disease expertise centre, and increase public information on the danger of tick bites.

Lyme disease is caused by the Borrelia bacteria and is passed on to humans by sheep ticks. Tick numbers are increasing in the Dutch countryside. What’s more, a study by Wageningen University found that around 25 percent of ticks in the Netherlands carry the bacteria. This is far higher than the European average of 10 percent.

The disease can cause a range of symptoms, including severe arthritis, and may even be fatal. According to the Dutch Association for Lyme Patients half a million people in the Netherlands are currently suffering from Lyme disease, and ten thousand people are infected each year. The infection frequently goes undiagnosed, especially when patients fail to notice they have been bitten by a tick. As a result, the symptoms worsen and become harder to treat.

(c) Radio Netherlands Worldwide