They are small and inconspicuous, they like to hide in the grass, you can easily come across them during a trip to the forest or a walk in the park. Their attack is imperceptible, but the effects are. A tick stuck into the human skin can lead to the development of diseases such as Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis, and even to hemorrhagic fever. How to protect yourself from them? For example, leaving your cell phone behind, going out to nature. A Polish-Slovak team of researchers has just proved that the most dangerous, i.e. infected ticks, are attracted by electromagnetic radiation with a frequency typical of devices that we almost never part with today.
- Ticks are the second – after mosquitoes – the largest vector of infectious diseases in humans
- A Polish-Slovak team of scientists investigated whether electromagnetic radiation, emitted, among others, by by smartphones and other devices, can “attract” ticks
- You can find more such stories on the TvoiLokony home page
Ticks – an underestimated threat
Although the tick has been present in our environment for a very long time, it has not been treated as a particular threat for many years. Pulling out an arachnid stuck in the skin was the order of the day, few thought about the possible consequences of a bite or inaccurate removal of a tick from the epidermis. Diagnostics was also insufficient – little tests for the presence of antibodies for Lyme disease were performed, and the very name of this disease fell at the very end of possible causes of disturbing neurological (and not only) ailments lasting months. And although awareness of the threat has been growing for several years, ticks and the danger they bring are still underestimated.
Meanwhile, these numerous (almost 900 species are recognized) arachnids are the second – after mosquitoes – the largest vector of infectious diseases in humans (and the first in farm and free-living animals). This means that they can easily transmit pathogens such as viruses, bacteria or protozoa and are indirectly responsible for Lyme disease (caused by bacteria belonging to the spirochetes), tick-borne encephalitis (RNA virus from the group Flaviviridae), anaplasmosis (gram-negative bacteria Anaplasma phagocytophilum), tularemia (gram-negative rod Francisella tularensis), hemorrhagic fever (Ebola virus) or Q fever (gram-negative Coxiella). These diseases can wreak havoc in the body, and complications can affect almost any system or organ: from the skin, through joints, to the heart and brain.
Until recently, tropical and subtropical regions were the “favorite” areas for ticks. But these arachnids are great in new conditions, so today they can be found in almost every latitude. Their spread is favored by climate change. Increasingly long periods of high temperature, including warm winters, mean that we are exposed to tick attacks all year round, and not – as is commonly believed – only in summer. The increasing range of their occurrence is also due to the more frequent and further journeys, as a result of which arachnids reach areas where they were not considered a big problem so far.
The scale of the phenomenon is best demonstrated by the statistics of tick-borne diseases. In 2019, 20 people contracted Lyme disease (also known as Lyme disease and tick-borne disease). 630 people. This is “only” 480 more than the year before, but when we look at the figures from the previous decade, the difference is huge: in 2008 it was 8. 255 cases, and four years earlier, 3 822.
The only comforting fact here is that the opposite tendency applies to the percentage of hospitalizations due to tick-borne disease. In the first years of this century, it was even 40%, today from 8 to 10% goes to the hospital. patients with Lyme disease.
- See also: Bitten by a tick? Polish scientists appeal: do not throw it away! Why?
Electromagnetic pollution and ticks
So far, about 70 species of ticks have been identified in Europe alone, and in Poland – 19. The common, pasture tick, i.e. Ixodes ricinus. It was he who became the subject of a scientific experiment, which investigated how an arachnid behaves in “contact” with an electromagnetic field (EMF) with a frequency of 900 MHz. Perhaps it would not be surprising, if not for the fact that this radiation is commonly used in devices with which we come into contact every day: from radio stations, through TV antennas, to smartphones and other mobile devices.
In the article published in the “Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases” journal, Polish and Slovak scientists point out that high-frequency electromagnetic radiation – due to the widespread availability of, for example, mobile phones – has become a serious threat to the entire environment. EMF is unfavorable not only for smartphone users, but also for plants, animals and bacteria. It influences cell metabolism, immune response and DNA expression, changing them in various ways. In addition, it disrupts the functions of the nervous, cardiovascular and reproductive systems, as well as the activity of certain enzymes. It also has a huge share in the activation of oxidative stress, which has become a disease of civilization in the XNUMXst century.
So far, dozens of organisms have been studied for the influence of the electromagnetic field. Scientists have noticed, among other things, that the so-called electromagnetic pollution can lead to significant changes in the distribution, activity and physiology of birds, amphibians and bats. In the case of ticks, it resulted, for example, in extending the hatching time of the larvae, and even disturbing their development or reducing the survival rate (in this respect, the species was studied Hyalomma asiatica).
The experiment in which meadow ticks (dermacentor reticulatus) was exposed to radiation of variable frequency. When the arachnids had a choice: a site with a field of 0 MHz and 900 MHz, they chose the latter, but when the EMF was higher (5000 MHz), they headed towards the non-irradiated area. This shows that ticks – like many other living organisms – can have a specific magnetic sense and be guided by it when choosing a potential host.
- Editors recommend: I was bitten by a tick. Should I get a Lyme test?
Tick ”with luggage”
What is the most important for us – potential hosts – is the fact that such “intuition” can also accompany ticks infected with pathogens causing dangerous infectious diseases. It is on this aspect of the impact of the EMF on Ixodes ricinus scientists from the Polish-Slovak team focused. They compared how ticks “with baggage”, ie those that are vector of a microorganism, behave towards such radiation, and how uninfected ticks react. Importantly, during the experiment, the arachnids were not influenced by any other factors that could additionally stimulate them, such as even smell.
It turned out that ticks infected (in this case with a rickettsial bacterium) clung to the electromagnetic field with a frequency of 900 MHz twice as often as those free from the pathogen. According to the authors of the study, although it may seem improbable, when we realize that ticks – like other living organisms – are subject to a long, thousands of years co-evolution cycle with their pathogens, everything starts to make sense. Pathogens are able not only to manipulate their hosts, but also to change their metabolism, affect fertility, and control environmental preferences. “Apparently, some of them influence the response of ticks to electromagnetic stimuli – making them even more likely than usual to target them,” the researchers point out.
– This is just the beginning of the research. We would definitely like to check if in the field – and not purely experimental – the influence of radiation from phones and other mobile devices on ticks is also noticeable. It may turn out that then other stimuli that we send to it, such as our body heat, smell and exhaled carbon dioxide, are much more important for the tick, and the impact of radiation is not that big. We would also like to see, in the long term, how electromagnetic radiation in the environment, even called a new type of pollution, affects the geographical distribution of ticks, says the drug. vet. Martyna Frątczak from the University of Life Sciences in Poznań, one of the authors of the study.
Since we already know how much the radiation emitted by mobile devices has on the activity of ticks, the change in the range of their occurrence should come as no surprise. However, it should definitely encourage us to increase health protection while enjoying the charms of nature.
– It is worth focusing on standard tick-borne disease prevention – using protective clothing, deterrents and checking your body, for example after a trip to the forest. It is also important to provide professional anti-tick protection for dogs and other slow-walking pets, emphasizes the drug. vet. Martyna Frątczak.
At the same time, consider whether the smartphone is really an essential element of our trip and whether using it during recreation in nature is worth the risk of becoming an attractive target for an infected tick.
You can buy a natural liquid that repels ticks, mosquitoes and flies at Medonet Market for PLN 39,99.
This may interest you:
- Is it tick-borne encephalitis? Five key symptoms
- How to protect a child from a tick? Tips to remember
- Not only Lyme disease. What else can a tick bite end?
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