Who do ticks actually bite?
In St. Petersburg, over a thousand people have suffered from arthropod bites in two months! It’s time to remember how to protect yourself from the attack of pests and where to go if close contact with the pest could not be avoided.
This year, Petersburgers willingly mastered magical rituals that could bring the onset of warm days in the city closer. And it seems that they succeeded in this. The column on the thermometer has already gone off scale for the day at +20 degrees – it’s time to open the season of summer cottages and barbecues in nature.
But along with people, the beginning of this spring was also marked by ticks, insects that are carriers of such dangerous diseases as tick-borne encephalitis and tick-borne borreliosis.
In just a week, more than 600 townspeople became victims of dangerous insects, and in the spring there were more than a thousand of them. Moreover, in six cases, doctors diagnosed infection with tick-borne borreliosis, and one child was among the victims. A tense situation is also observed in the Leningrad region. There, in a week, ticks have bitten 1 citizens.
Most cases of close human contact with a tick were recorded in the territories of Pushkin, Kurortny and Krasnogvardeisky districts. In the Leningrad region, with an eye on the woodlands, it is worth wandering in the Luga, Kirishsky, Gatchinsky, Tosno districts. The danger can lie in wait in the neighboring regions – Pskov and Novgorod regions, as well as in Karelia.
It is possible to be attacked by ticks not only when visiting a forest, a forest park or in orchards. Tick-borne encephalitis can be contracted without even leaving your home. Contact with animals or people returning from a walk from the forest is enough: parasites can be on clothes, in flowers or branches. But that’s not all! The virus can be found in the milk of goats, cows and buffaloes. So, during the period of a massive attack of ticks, it is better to refuse to take raw milk.
– Every year, the territories of the most visited recreation areas are subjected to special treatment – parks and forest parks, squares and children’s out-of-town health institutions. In addition, this list also includes cemeteries – there are no fewer ticks than in parks, ”warns Irina Chkhinzheria, head of the epidemiological surveillance department of the St. Petersburg Rospotrebnadzor.
In large parks, areas are cultivated along pedestrian paths and paths, in children’s health institutions – the territory inside, as well as along the perimeter at a width of 50 meters. So delving deeper into the thickets is fraught.
– The most reliable and effective way to protect against tick-borne encephalitis is vaccination, – says Irina Chkhinzheria. – And you should take care of this in advance, before the start of the season. The first vaccination must be done in the fall, the second after 3-4 months, in February-March. Over the next three years, it is enough to do one vaccination per year to protect yourself from infection with dangerous viruses for a fairly long period.
– But even now it is not too late to get vaccinated. There is a simplified withdrawal of vaccination when there is 14 or 7 days between two vaccine injections, depending on the vaccine. Contact the local polyclinic for this – the vaccination will be free of charge. After that, for two weeks, you will have to lead the life of an exclusively city dweller, refusing both trips to the dacha and walking in the parks.
– A person who is not vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis will have to follow the rules of behavior in nature even more carefully. For walks in the forest or park, it is better to choose light-colored clothing (it is easier to notice the parasite on this), which will not allow the insect to crawl onto the skin.
The shirt should have long sleeves, preferably with elastic at the cuffs. The shirt must be tucked into trousers, the ends of the trousers must be tucked into socks and boots. Cover the head and neck with a scarf. Also, to protect against ticks, repellants are used – repellents, which are used to treat open areas of the body and clothing. Every two hours, as well as when leaving the forest, you should inspect your clothes and body on your own or with the help of other people, and remove any identified ticks.
What if a tick is bitten?
Do not reach the tick with your bare hands, put on a glove, or wrap your hand in a tissue. To remove the tick, you need tweezers or a thick thread. Under no circumstances tear off the parasite: its proboscis may remain in the wound. If this happens, use a sterilized needle and pull out the proboscis like a splinter. The place of the tick bite must be treated with any alcohol-containing preparation: iodine, brilliant green. Even a regular cologne will do.
It is ideal to hand over the tick for analysis alive on the day of capture. Immunoglobulin must be administered within 72 hours after suction. The maximum period during which you can count on a reliable analysis result is 10 days. If the tick is not infected, it is recommended to observe the victim for 3-4 weeks. If any ailment appears: fever, joint aches, rash – you must contact your doctor at your place of residence and be sure to report the fact of close contact with an insect.
In St. Petersburg, ticks are diagnosed at the microbiological laboratory of the FGUZ “Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology” (Oboronnaya St., 35a), tel. 786-87-00. The examination is paid (650 rubles). If the test results are positive, all data are sent to the Clinical Infectious Diseases Hospital named after SP Botkin, whose specialists will contact the patient for a course of preventive treatment.
You can also contact the trauma center at your place of residence. It is necessary to carry the tick there in a glass bottle, closing the container with a lid. By the way, if there is a referral from a medical institution, then the analysis will be done free of charge.