This paper investigates the annual variation in the Lyme disease infection rates seen in different areas of Scotland from 1999 to 2003. We suggest that the combination of a warm, wet January to March (aiding tick survival) and a dry April to July (favouring increased human exposure) explained the increased incidence of Lyme disease observed in certain years during the study period. Human behavioural changes brought about by the countryside access restrictions enforced during the Foot and Mouth disease epidemic may have had an additional influence on the incidence of Lyme disease in the East of Scotland during 2001. This paper helps in our understanding of Scottish Lyme disease.
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