The doctor told how Sverdlovsk residents can protect themselves from ticks

In the spring, when the air warms up to 5-7 ° C, ticks wake up. After hibernation, they are hungry, so they are looking for a victim to feed on blood. The first bites are recorded in March, and an increase in the activity of bloodsuckers is expected from April. Where the Sverdlovsk residents are in danger, how to protect themselves and what to do if the tick still bites, Ekaterina Demyanovskaya, candidate of medical sciences, expert of the Gemotest laboratory, told URA.RU correspondent.

“Ticks are carriers of many infections. For example, according to the Gemotest, in the Sverdlovsk region in 2021 and 2022, ixodid borreliosis (Lyme disease) was most often detected. Without treatment, this infection becomes chronic, affecting the skin, causing problems with the heart and joints, and malfunctioning of the nervous system. There is no vaccination against Lyme disease, which is why it is so important to prevent tick bites. To do this, during the season of their activity, they wear clothes that fit snugly to the body, use special means – anti-tick repellents, ”says Demyanovskaya.

Also, we must not forget that ixodid ticks carry the tick-borne encephalitis virus, a pathogen that causes inflammation of the membranes and tissue of the brain, which can lead to persistent neurological deficits or death. “A reliable way to protect against tick-borne encephalitis is vaccination. There are several vaccines against tick-borne encephalitis. For example, one of the vaccines is administered to healthy people twice with an interval of 1-7 months, and the body needs another 2 weeks to form stable immunity, ”the laboratory doctor shares.

After each walk with a visit to a park or forest belt, it is advisable to examine the whole body. If contact with a tick cannot be avoided, it is important to remove the attached parasite as soon as possible. “It is impossible to determine whether a tick is infected or not by appearance or behavior. You will need laboratory testing. If it is not possible to give the tick itself to the laboratory, 10 days after the bite, you can donate blood from a vein for infections transmitted by ixodid ticks, ”advises Ekaterina Demyanovskaya.

Earlier URA.RU wrote that the Sverdlovsk citizen died after being bitten by a tick. The man could not survive the infection with encephalitis.