A Galwaywoman who was bitten by a tick and subsequently went on to develop Lyme Disease has started a campaign for public signage warning against the dangers to be erected in public recreational areas.
Aoife Rankin who contracted the debilitating disase after being bitten by a tick in Inverin has contacted members of Galway City Council and Galway County Council to progress her campaign and help avoid others avoid the horrific effect of the condition.
Ms Rankin paid a very high price for going for a relaxing walk in the Connemara countryside with her dogs 11 years ago.
The former secondary school teacher from Newcastle was living in Inverin at the time. She was out and about a lot and was always conscious of the risk of getting a tick bite because she knew someone who got Lyme disease. as it is spread through the bite of an infected tick.
“I lived beside a bog and had two dogs,” she says. “We would have been awfully vigilant about ticks, hyper vigilant, if anything. We would pick out the ticks [from the dogs].”
The then 35-year-old was fit, and healthy so when she began to experience a number of seemingly unrelated symptoms, she presumed she was just run down or had a virus. Unfortunately, unknown to her and despite her caution, she had been bitten by a tick.
That was 2014 and for the next 11 years, she has been constantly unwell. She was eventually diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2023 after years of pain, repeated urinary tract infections (UTIs ), extreme tiredness, nausea, and depression. At her worst, she was unable to do anything, even go to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee.
“It happened all of a sudden, from 2014, I got bad,” recalls Aoife, who taught Irish and Japanese at Salerno School in Salthill for 15 years.
Bringing attention
“I believe it is important to bring attention to this disease. There are no public signs to make people more aware of the presence of ticks in woodlands, gardens, and other parts of Galway city and county. Children are greatly at risk because they are playing outside, and walkers, hikers, gardeners, and hunters are, too,” she told the Advertiser.
Now, with the help of Clr Donal Lyons and Cllr Noel Thomas, she has proposed the motion that signage will be installed throughout the county of Galway to inform the public on appropriate safety measures in response to TICK dangers, with a QR code for further information
In a letter to councillors, she said that as we are at the start of another spring-summer season in beautiful County Galway, the level of outdoor activity will be increasing as we enjoy the most beautiful landscape in our neck of the woods.
“Being able to safely enjoy the wonderful nature that surrounds us is paramount and it is with this in mind that we contact you about the need to highlight a potential danger throughout our county and ask that you propose the motion that appropriate safety signage be put in place on public recreational grounds such as woods, cycle paths, mountain trails and beaches.
“Outdoor activities will naturally increase as we take full advantage of the stunning landscapes around us. Ensuring that people can safely enjoy the incredible nature that surrounds us is of the utmost importance! With this in mind, I am reaching out to you to highlight a potential safety concern across the county - the presence of ticks! I kindly ask that you propose a motion to install appropriate safety signage in public recreational areas, including woodlands, cycle paths, mountain trails, and beaches.
“Lyme disease is a bacterial illness that is transmitted by tick bites and has been identified by the World Health Organisation as one of the fastest growing vector-borne diseases across the globe1. If treated early, it can have favourable outcomes for most patients, but, if left untreated, it can lead to aggressive, multi-systemic disease, sometimes leaving the patient indefinitely bed bound and in need of full-time care.
“It was previously assumed that a tick must be attached to the body for over twenty-four hours to transmit the bacteria, but there aren’t any studies that verify a safe period of attachment2. There is, however, universal agreement that the quicker the tick is removed, the lower the risk of infection.
“In this instance, knowledge is power and fast action can mean the difference between shaking a tick off clothes before it has the opportunity to bite into the skin, or else allowing the tick time to silently attach to the body and possibly go on to infect the person without their knowing.
“While infected ticks were previously thought to be confined to dense woodlands, numerous international studies have found this information to be outdated.
Urban phenomenon
Ticks are now known to have a much broader breeding ground and, considering that they thrive in moist, warm areas, the yearly increase in temperature serves to facilitate their rise in numbers all across the globe - neither Ireland nor County Galway is not immune to this phenomenon.
The HSE’s Health Protection Surveillance Centre’s website states that ticks are now an urban as well as a rural problem, so it’s no longer just a danger confined to woodlands
A 2011 study along the coast of California revealed the presence of ticks along the beaches at the same rates as wooded areas and, just as a local incident of relevance, one of my friends found a tick embedded in her leg while gardenting last summer in Salthill, and another friends found one on her after a walk in Barna Woods.
“Where our County Council lands borders that of other public bodies, collaboration on signage is vital. It’s now time for our council to respond to the increasing spread and danger of ticks beyond just wooded areas. Lives are at stake. There are people who are perfectly healthy today but who are at risk of contracting Lyme disease in our stunning county.
“Are we prepared to meet those people when they are sick next year and tell them that we had the opportunity to alert them to the potential danger but chose not to do so? It could be one of your family, friends, or colleagues who is unfortunate enough to contract the infection this year. There is a moral obligation to alert people to potential danger and, in taking a few simple measures, we can all continue to enjoy the wild beauty of County Galway.
The Lyme Resource Centre has effective yet unobtrusive free outdoor signage displaying a QR code to HSE information available for free for public areas so there would be no financial burden involved in this project, and the signs are ready to use without delay. Other county councils have already begun the rollout of tick awareness and lyme prevention signage (ie: Sligo ) and it is time for County Galway to offer the same level of care for our communities.
For over 12 years, I have battled chronic Lyme disease, and in the past two years, my condition has left me unable to work. Despite seeking treatment from my GP and consultant in Ireland, nothing has worked. Now, my only hope is to undergo treatment at St. George Hospital in Germany.
Years of chronic pain, five surgeries, extreme exhaustion, weakness, and countless other symptoms have left me mostly bedridden in the last two years. I wouldn’t wish this suffering on anyone. That’s why it’s so important to take preventative action—ensuring proper safety signage is installed across Galway City and County could help protect others from this devastating illness.
“We want to live in a society where we care for each other and especially where we look out for our precious children, but how can we do that if we know about potential danger but fail to raise the alert? We have the privilege to call this extraordinarily beautiful county our home, so let’s keep our county safe by making everyone aware of how to protect themselves against a disease that can ruin lives and cause untold suffering. Lyme disease can be prevented and Galway City and County Council can help make the difference,” she concluded.
