A recent motion (S4M-13522) in the Scottish Parliament recognised the importance of Lyme borreliosis and the suffering that chronic infections of the disease produce.  However since 2012 it hasn’t been a notifiable disease in Scotland, meaning the apparent incidence of a disease that increased 11-fold in the first decade of this century has actually fallen in the past few years. Lyme disease is caused by a bacterium and only transmitted by the bites of ticks.  Many people don’t even realise they’ve been bitten – tick bites are painless and the animals are often able to feed on blood undetected for days before dropping off.  If the tick is infected and the person bitten fails to seek medical attention (or his/her GP doesn’t recognise the symptoms in time) the parasite can pass from the blood - where it’s susceptible to antibiotics - to the chronic phase in organs such as the CNS, heart or thyroid, where it’s very difficult to diagnose or treat.  But the good news is that despite its capacity to cause years of pain, fatigue and depression Lyme disease is easy to prevent or cure if diagnosed early enough.  Knowledge is indeed power in this case – but that knowledge starts with restoring Lyme disease as a notifiable disease in Scotland, raising its profile among GPs and the general public and allowing us to get a good idea of its true incidence in this country. Please sign this petition as a step towards bringing the number of actual cases down, rather than just the number reported!