Warm spring days come and after a harsh winter you want to be in the fresh air, soak up the warm rays of the spring sun. Someone is going to work in the country, someone just visit the forest or near a river or lake. But we must remember, that in the spring a variety of blood-sucking insects are also activated, who are waiting for us in the bosom of nature.

The most widespread habitats of ticks are mixed forests.. Experts note, which annually about 10% of victims indicate a tick bite within the forest park zones of Minsk and the surrounding area. The residents of the capital noted the greatest number of bites during their stay outside the city., including garden plots on the territory of Minsk, Пуховичского, Stolbtsovsky, Dzerzhinsky, Molodechno, Uzdensky and other districts of the Minsk region.

Ixodid ticks were found in suburban forests near the Zaslavskoye reservoirs, Krynitsa, Blackbirds, the village of Sosny and woodlands on the outskirts of the city, adjacent to residential buildings in the area of ​​Tsnyanskoe reservoir and Miroshnichenko street, Green Meadow, Uruchya, Stephanies, Blind people, Angarskaya streets, Герасименко, Stebenev. Ticks were also found in the capital's Victory Park, Botanical Garden, the park of the 50th anniversary of October and the green area located next to it on Bekhterev and Zhilunovich streets, tree nursery in the area of ​​Ponomarenko street.

Pets are also subject to tick bites , as a result of which they can be carriers of tick-borne infections. Therefore, we remind, that in no case should you eat raw goat milk, which can become a source of tick-borne encephalitis virus. This is especially dangerous in the spring.. For the virus to die, just boil the milk 2-3 minutes and you don't have to worry about your health.

Even if the tick bite was short-lived, the risk of contracting tick-borne infections is not excluded. A tick can be the source of a fairly large number of diseases., therefore removing the tick, save it for testing for tick-borne infections (tick-borne encephalitis, tick-borne borreliosis). This can usually be done at the Hygiene and Epidemiology Center..

The tick should be placed in a small glass bottle along with a piece of cotton wool., slightly moistened with water. Be sure to close the bottle with a tight cap and store it in the refrigerator.

For microscopic diagnostics, the tick must be delivered to the laboratory alive. Even individual tick fragments are suitable for PCR diagnostics. However, the latter method is not widespread even in large cities..

However, one must understand, that the presence of an infection in a tick does not mean, that a person will get sick. Tick ​​analysis is needed for peace of mind in case of a negative result and vigilance – in case of positive. The surest way to determine the presence of a disease is to take a blood test.. It is not necessary to donate blood immediately after a tick bite – analyzes will not show anything. Not earlier, than through 10 days, you can test blood for tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis by PCR. Two weeks after a tick bite for antibodies (IgM) tick-borne encephalitis virus. On antibodies (IgM) to borreliam (tick-borne borreliosis) – in three weeks.

Tick-borne encephalitis – viral infection, affecting the central and peripheral nervous system. Severe complications of acute infection can result in paralysis and death. Tick-borne encephalitis is characterized by a strict spring-summer seasonality of the onset of the disease., associated with seasonal vector activity. In Belarus, the disease occurs in the spring and first half of summer, May – June months, when the biological activity of this tick species is highest. For ticks, there is an increase in biological activity twice a season., and in the range of this mite are characteristic 2 peak seasonal incidence of tick-borne encephalitis: in the spring (May June) and at the end of summer (Aug. Sept).

Signs of tick-borne encephalitis.

The incubation period of tick-borne encephalitis lasts on average 7-14 days with fluctuations from one day to 30 days. There is transient weakness in the limbs, neck muscles, numbness of the skin of the face and neck. The clinical manifestations of tick-borne encephalitis are diverse., the course is variable. The disease often begins acutely, with chills and an increase in body temperature to 38-40 ° С. The fever lasts from 2 to 10 days. General malaise appears, sharp headache, nausea and vomiting, frailty, fatigue, sleep disturbances. In the acute period, redness of the facial skin is noted., neck and chest, oropharyngeal mucosa, scleral and conjunctival injection. Disturbed by pain in the whole body and limbs. If symptoms of tick-borne encephalitis are found, the patient should be urgently admitted to an infectious diseases hospital for intensive treatment.

Course of the disease.

Despite the variety of manifestations of the acute period of tick-borne encephalitis, in each individual case, the leading syndrome of the disease can be distinguished. Based on this, there are five clinical forms of tick-borne encephalitis: 1) feverish (erased); 2) meningeal; 3) meningoencephalitic; 4) polio; 5) polyradiculoneuritic.

Emergency prevention of tick-borne encephalitis should be carried out as early as possible, better – on the first day. Emergency prevention of tick-borne encephalitis is carried out, using antiviral drugs or immunoglobulin.

Kleschevoy borreliosis (Lyme disease) - is in second place in danger and is the most common disease, transmitted by ticks. Lyme disease – it is an infectious disease, caused by spirochetes and transmitted by ticks, having a tendency to chronic and recurrent course and predominant skin lesions, nervous system, musculoskeletal system and heart. For the first time, the study of the disease began in 1975 g in the town of Lime (USA). Patient with tick-borne borreliosis (Lyme disease) not contagious to others.

Infection with tick-borne borreliosis occurs when an infected tick bites. Borrelia with tick saliva enter the skin and multiply within a few days, after which they spread to other areas of the skin and internal organs (heart, brain, joints, etc.). Borrelia for a long time (over the years) can persist in the human body, causing the chronic and recurrent course of the disease. The chronic course of the disease can develop after a long period of time.. The process of development of the disease in borreliosis is similar to the development of syphilis.

Lyme disease signs.

The incubation period of tick-borne borreliosis is – from 2 to 30 days, average – 2 Sun.

A characteristic sign of the onset of the disease in 70% cases is the appearance of reddening of the skin at the site of a tick bite. The red spot gradually increases along the periphery, reaching 1-10 cm in diameter, sometimes before 60 cm and more. The shape of the spot is round or oval, less often wrong. The outer edge of the inflamed skin is more intensely red, rises somewhat above the level of the skin. Over time, the central part of the spot turns pale or becomes bluish., a ring shape is created. At the site of the tick bite, in the center of the spot, the crust is determined, then scar. The stain persists without treatment 2-3 Sun, then disappears. Across 1-1,5 1 month, signs of damage to the nervous system develop, hearts, joints.

Recognizing Lyme disease.

The appearance of a red spot at the site of a tick bite gives reason to think primarily of Lyme disease.. A blood test is performed to confirm the diagnosis..

Treatment of tick-borne borreliosis should be carried out in an infectious diseases hospital, where, primarily, therapy is in progress, aimed at destroying borrelia. Without such treatment, the disease progresses., becomes chronic, and in some cases leads to disability.

Emergency prevention of tick-borne borreliosis, usually, do not conduct, if it is possible to donate blood for antibodies to tick-borne borreliosis (IgM). It is better to take the analysis through 3 weeks after tick bite. If the result is positive, you need to contact an infectious disease specialist

Prevention measures

During the day, the activity of ticks to attack is not the same. On warm days, they are most aggressive with 8 to 11 h; with the onset of heat, they become inactive. Their aggressiveness resumes with 17 to 20 h. On cloudy days, their activity almost does not change during the day.. During the rain, the activity of ticks sharply decreases or stops, but in the drizzling rain, they can attack humans and animals.

Going to the forest, wear normal clothes! Trousers must be tucked into socks, shirt – in trousers! The best footwear in the forest should be considered boots., smooth surface which makes it difficult for the pliers to attach. In the head (in hair) pliers, against the general opinion, rarely bite (except under the hair, crawling from below). They rarely jump from trees, they usually sit on the grass and bushes, after hitting a person, they crawl up, until they find a comfortable place, where to bite. Experience suggests, that ticks never dig through ordinary cotton clothing, but through rare threads they bite all the time. Regular tights, not too stretched, usually, provide sufficient protection for ticks. The best underwear is knitted, since it fits snugly to the body and makes it difficult for ticks to suck.

Ticks are also clearly visible (and felt!) right on the skin, if you are wearing a swimsuit / swimming trunks, and in this form you walk along the trail in hot weather. You need to look around for ticks, the more often – all the better. Ticks can dig in in minutes 5, although they usually do it through 0,5 o'clock – time.

Spraying or smearing clothes with pyrethroids helps a lot. (pincer pencil “Pretix”) or other poisons – ticks become inactive and weakly adhere to clothing. Treatment of clothes with repellents also has a protective effect. (deterrent substances). These include repudin, dimethyl phthalate, diethyl phthalate, dibutyl phthalate, etc..

Tick-borne encephalitis can be protected by vaccination, no vaccine has been developed against Lyme disease.

Immunization against tick-borne encephalitis is mandatory shown to professional contingents of the population, whose activities are carried out on the territory of natural foci of this infection:

in the Republic of Belarus – these are the territories of Belovezhskaya Pushcha and the Berezinsky Reserve.

Outside the Republic of Belarus – forest zones of the Urals regions, Siberia and the Far East.

To avoid infection with tick-borne encephalitis with alimentary transmission, milk should be consumed, especially goat, only after boiling.

What to do, if bitten by a tick

If the tick suction still occurs, initial consultation can always be obtained by phone 103.

To remove a tick, you will most likely be referred to your clinic or emergency room..

However, if you are not going to a medical facility, in the first week or two after the bite, be more careful about your well-being. Fever may be an alarming symptom., weakness, increased redness at the site of the bite. If you do not have the opportunity to seek help from a medical facility, then the tick will have to be removed on your own.

It should be borne in mind, that the likelihood of contracting tick-borne encephalitis, tick-borne borreliosis and other infections, transmitted by ticks, depends on the amount of virus, a tick penetrating through a "bite" (that is time, during which the tick was in a sucked state) - the sooner you remove the ingrained parasite, all the better.

Mites can be conveniently removed with curved forceps or surgical forceps, in principle, any other tweezers will do. In this case, the tick must be captured as close to the proboscis as possible., then it is pulled up gently, while rotating around its axis in a convenient direction. Usually through 1-3 turnover, the tick is removed entirely along with the proboscis. If you try to pull out the tick, then the probability of its rupture is high.

If you don't have tweezers at hand, no special devices for removing ticks, then the tick can be removed with a thread. A strong thread is tied in a knot, as close as possible to the tick proboscis, then the tick is removed, pulling it up. Abrupt movements are unacceptable.

Tick ​​removal must be done with caution., without squeezing his body, since in this case it is possible to squeeze out the contents of the tick together with pathogens into the wound. It is important not to break the tick when removing – the part remaining in the skin can cause inflammation and suppuration. It is worth considering, that when the head of the tick is torn off, the process of infection can continue, since there is a significant concentration of tick-borne encephalitis virus in the salivary glands and ducts.

If, when removing the tick, its head came off, which looks like a black point, the place of suction is wiped with cotton wool or bandage, moistened with alcohol, and then remove the head with a sterile needle (pre-calcined on fire) So, how do you remove a common splinter.

Some far-fetched advice about how, that for better removal, ointment dressings should be applied to the sucked tick or oil solutions should be used. Oil can block the airways of the tick, and the tick will die, and stayed in the skin. After removing the tick, the skin at the site of its suction is treated with tincture of iodine or alcohol. Bandage, usually, not required.