Incoming mail to the club, lest anyone wishes to take her up on this offer.
"Dear New Forest Mountain Bike Club,
I am Eilish Hart, a PhD student based at the UK Health Security Agency at Porton Down, Salisbury. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is a government agency responsible for protecting every member of every community from the impact of infectious diseases and other health threats.
Part of my PhD involves looking at population exposure to tick-borne diseases including Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis. I am running a study to see if people who enjoy outdoor recreational activities in areas where ticks are common, like the New Forest and areas nearby, have increased exposure to tick borne diseases. I am contacting recreational groups such as yours to ask if your members would be interested in taking part in this study.
Anyone interested in taking part will be invited to attend a local venue where the study will be explained and background information shared. If willing, they will be asked to consent to take part. They will be asked to fill in a questionnaire about their relevant hobbies and tick exposure, and donate one tube of blood (<1 tbsp) which will be tested for evidence of previous exposure to tick-borne diseases including Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis.
If this would be of interest to members of your group, would you be happy circulating the attached poster and awareness materials please? Members can follow the link at the bottom of the poster or scan the QR code to indicate interest, and where and when they would like to participate. Also, if there are any times/places for a sampling session which would work with the majority of your members please let me know and we will do our best to organise a session that works for you. Your help is greatly appreciated!
Many thanks,
Eilish Hart
UKHSA logo
Eilish Hart
HPRU PhD Student
UK Health Security Agency
eilish.hart@ukhsa.gov.uk
www.gov.uk/ukhsa Follow us on Twitter @UKHSA