Summer has come - it's time for holidays and walks in the cool forests, parks, forest belts etc. And all of us, of course, remember the main danger of outdoor recreation - ticks.
The tick lives in dusky, old mixed forests with a high grass cover. Endemic regions in Russia are the Republic of Altai, Tomsk Oblast, the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Kurgan Region. Ticks do not tolerate dry air and direct sunlight. They can also be found in urban parks, where there are many shrubs. In addition, the tick can enter the house along with branches, herbs and flowers from the forest. The raw goat's or cow's milk from infected animals must be boiled.
The period of activity of ticks begins in the spring and lasts until October. Ticks-ectoparasites are capable of transmitting pathogenic rickettsia, bacteria, viruses and protozoa. For Russia, mites of the genus Ixodes are of the greatest importance, and tick-borne encephalitis, borreliosis (Lyme disease) and erlichiosis are the most important tick-borne infections, with which, unfortunately, the systems of biological protection of the human body cannot cope themselves.
Ticks cause many other diseases like:
How to avoid bites?
Dress appropriately: you must wear tight shirt, trousers tuck into the boots, cuffs sleeves and collar button in a forest.
Use insect repellents that will scare off insects from 2 to 13 hours. In accordance with international recommendations, preference should be given to repellents containing diethyltoluamide (DETA) in a concentration of 30-50%. Acaricides are substances that have a paralytic effect on ticks. Such drugs are applied only to clothing.
What should I do if I had been bitten?
A person does not immediately feel a bite as the parasite's saliva contains an anesthetic, so, after visiting the forest, be sure to examine yourself and your clothes. Place the insects in a jar of kerosene. One must not drop tick on the ground and press it down, as the virus, along with the body fluids, can get into the smallest cracks on the skin.
If the tick is already found on one’s body, remove it as soon as possible. A tick does not threaten the life and health of a person in a short time, and it is not so important who gets it - you or a doctor. In the case of ticks follow the rule: the faster it gets out, the better the system of biological protection will react. Therefore, you can remove the insect at home yourself - with tweezers or a loop of thread. By the way, special tweezers are sold in pharmacies.
When self-removing the tick, observe the following recommendations:
Try to pull out the mite entirely, without cutting off the proboscis, since the remaining proboscis can cause suppuration. But if the head or proboscis of the tick remains inside, they will come out themselves within three to four weeks, and they are not dangerous.
Treatment
All therapy is exceptionally symptomatic, unfortunately.
Specific prevention
One can be vaccinated from tick-borne encephalitis in advance. Special vaccinations against tick-borne encephalitis are made only from October to March. All persons traveling to work or rest in disadvantaged areas must be vaccinated. Systems of biological protection of the body should be strengthened in advance - before the season of tick activity.
The standard vaccination scheme provides for 2 vaccinations. The course can be conducted throughout the year, but no later than 2 weeks before going to the endemic area. After the initial course of vaccination, the inoculation is repeated after 12 months, subsequent revaccinations are carried out every 3 years.
Vaccinations against tick-borne encephalitis are carried out no earlier than 1 month after the last immunization with any other vaccine. Between the injection of immunoglobulin against tick-borne encephalitis and the vaccination an interval of at least 4 weeks should be observed.
If tick sucking occurred in an endemic area and the person is not vaccinated, the system of biological protection of the patient is externally strengthened by the human immunoglobulin against tick-borne encephalitis. But its introduction is possible only within 96 hours after the bite. Protective antibodies are preserved for one month after the introduction of immunoglobulin.
In the case of borreliosis, the observation of one's own state of health for four weeks will help. If flu symptoms, irritation on the skin, or other suspicious lesions of systems of biological protection appear in this period, go to the therapist or to the infectious disease specialist immediately.
WestMedGroup produces and supplies biological protection systems, including the transport insulator for transporting persons suspected of being infected with especially dangerous infections.
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