I heard, that a study of countryside workers(gamekeepers,beaters etc), back in the 80s, showed that over 60% of the had been exposed to lymes disease at somepoint in the past but had remained, up until that point, largely unaffected by any symptoms.
I was tested about 7 years ago for Lymes disease, but the results were inconclusive.
Not sure what that means but it was
only about 4 yrs after having had symptoms that could have been related
.
I think Lymes disease has always been there, but now more people are inclined to be in places they are likely to pick the ticks up.
Please remember never to burn or rub cream etc over any ticks you find attached as it encourages them to empty the contents of their stomachs (straight into you) I believe that the risk of infection is very low if you remove any ticks carefully within a few hours of them having latched on.