– In the case of TBE, as in COVID-19, there is still no effective drug. However, we can protect ourselves against TBE because we have effective vaccines. That is why it is worth taking precautions – says biologist Dr. Anna Wierzbicka from the University of Life Sciences in Poznań.
Whether the ticks were affected by the constraints of the pandemic. For some time they could not meet us and our four-legged pets in parks and forests?
They did not particularly suffer because of our absence, because man is not their main breadwinner. They are mainly small rodents, deer, elk and wild boar. But since we were unable to go to the forest for some time, these animals, emboldened by the lack of people, wandered closer and closer to the cities. And with them ticks. And as a consequence, it may turn out that they will appear in places where they were not there before.
Where can we find ticks?
Unfortunately, they are already in city parks and other green areas where people live. Contrary to some myths, ticks do not sit on trees. They have short legs, they do not jump and do not fly. They are able to climb to a height of one meter at most. Most often they sit on grasses, berries, bushes. If they travel long distances, it is on their hosts – animals, birds, people. It has even been found that ticks from Africa have reached Europe, embedded in the skin of birds.
Do warm winters affect the tick population?
Due to the lack of frost, the ticks are active all year round. The pace of their development is also faster. The female tick lays up to 5. eggs from which the larvae hatch. To transform into nymphs, they need to get saturated with blood, most often of small rodents. Before the nymph becomes an adult, it also needs blood. If it is not able to eat it until winter comes, it may hibernate and begin the hunt again on warm days.
It is important to know that tick nymphs transmit all diseases that we can catch from adults and that we find them mainly on our bodies. A nymph that becomes saturated with blood transforms into an adult tick. Males don’t drink blood. Only females do this, and they lay eggs and die afterwards. So if there are no winters, the tick development cycle is faster. We start to think about them in May, but mainly because then we spend a lot of time outdoors, go for walks, in the woods, and on allotments. However, they are all year round.
How does a tick attack?
It waits for the plants, and when a prey appears, it falls on top of it. In humans, it most often lands on the calves or ankles. Then it wanders around the body looking for warm and humid places where the skin is thinner. Its snout is shorter than that of a mosquito, so it has to find an area where it can penetrate the skin. It occurs in the armpits, in the groin, in the knee or elbow bends, in the navel, in children on the head. Thanks to the hook structure, the snout sticks into the skin. His saliva numbs us, so we don’t even know he’s in us.
Should you see a doctor if you are bitten by a tick?
There is no need. Even when the coronavirus epidemic had not yet begun, a visit to the doctor was not needed. You can safely get rid of it really yourself.
How to take it out yourself?
Preferably with tweezers, as if we were plucking a hair. Grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible by the darker, harder part and pull it vigorously. Then wipe the area with a disinfectant. Do not do this before removing the tick. You should also not smear the tick stuck in the skin with cream or – as I read somewhere recently – coconut oil.
I also saw the information that if you put peppermint oil on it, it will fall off by itself. True, it will fall off, because it will start choking, but before vomiting, it can infect us with Lyme spirochetes. After removing the tick, we observe the place where it chained us. If erythema appears, consult a doctor. Also, fever and flu-related symptoms can be symptoms of tick-borne encephalitis, ie tick-borne encephalitis.
Can ticks transmit the coronavirus?
We don’t have studies on this, but we know the coronavirus is spread by airborne droplets, so we can be pretty sure it isn’t.
What viruses can ticks transmit?
First of all, the virus that causes tick-borne encephalitis, for which – like the coronavirus-induced COVID-19 – there is still no effective cure. Unfortunately, such encephalitis can be fatal. However, unlike the coronavirus, we have a vaccine that protects against infection with the tick-borne encephalitis virus.
Should we be afraid of the tick-borne encephalitis virus? How is the infection going?
It is a serious disease. The incubation period after a tick bite is 4 to 28 days. The disease begins suddenly. It runs in two phases. The first symptoms include fever up to 38⁰C, headache, muscle and joint pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Sometimes it is accompanied by inflammation of the upper respiratory tract.
Most patients heal spontaneously. However, some people develop a second neurological phase after an average of eight days of marked improvement. It occurs with a fever of up to 40⁰C, headache, muscle and joint pain, vomiting, stiff neck. Immunocompromised people treated with steroids or immunosuppressants may not survive TBE. As I mentioned, there is no cure for this disease. Only symptomatic relief measures are used.
What are the consequences of tick-borne encephalitis?
These can be limb paresis or nerve paralysis like after a stroke. Many patients suffer from disturbed consciousness, have difficulty concentrating, lose the ability to read or count. Such consequences of this disease in children can affect their further development, ruining their lives.
How to protect yourself?
A well-tested vaccine protects against tick-borne encephalitis. Foresters have obligatory vaccinations – they are funded by the employer. I also get vaccinated because I am researching ticks. In Austria, it is on the compulsory vaccination calendar. We have to pay for it ourselves. But worth. The vaccine is given as three doses, followed by a booster dose every three years thereafter. This is the most effective protection against this disease.
We should also remember to go to the forest in long trousers and covered shoes, and after returning to take a shower and carefully examine the whole body.
What is the difference between Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis?
We have effective drugs for Lyme disease and we can cure it. There is no medicine for tick-borne encephalitis. In addition, it takes more time, about 24 to 48 hours, for the tick to infect us with Lyme disease. Meanwhile, a few or several minutes of the tick’s existence on our body is enough to become infected with tick-borne encephalitis, even if we remove the arachnid. This is because the viruses that cause the disease are in his saliva, which he secretes to numb the victim and prevent blood from clotting.
When is it possible to get vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis?
All year. We used to advise you to do this through the summer season, but today the ticks are with us all year round so it doesn’t matter.
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