KUL infectious disease doctor Rūta Pundinienė for the portal Delphi said that in the future there may be more and more people infected with tick-borne diseases. The doctor advised how to recognize tick-borne encephalitis, told how dangerous this disease can be. The doctor also answered whether it is possible to prevent tick-borne encephalitis by quickly pulling out the sucked-in tick.
The disease is characterized by a two-wave fever
Dr. R. Pundinienė said that tick-borne encephalitis is characterized by a two-wave fever.
“During the first wave, simple symptoms of a viral cold appear with headache, muscle pain, drowsiness, subfebrile exhaustion, symptoms last for about 5-7 days.
After that, a period of “improvement” follows for about one to two weeks, and during the second wave, there is usually a febrile fever of 38-39 degrees, headache, nausea, gait disturbance, stiffness of the neck muscles, paresis, paralysis may also occur in some older people more often, weakness of the limbs or other complications”, – doctor R. Pundinienė named the symptoms.
Most often, patients are admitted to the hospital precisely during the second wave of fever.
“About half of those admitted to the hospital have seen a tick sucked in and they probably think it could be tick-borne encephalitis, while others seek medical attention due to clinical symptoms and, after being evaluated by a family doctor or GMP doctors, end up in the department of infectious diseases,” observed the interviewer. .
Residual phenomena are not rare
After tick-borne encephalitis, most of them face more or less residual effects: sleep, memory disorders, irritability, nervousness, temporary weakness. There may also be more serious violations, such as gait, coordination or balance disorders, prolonged headaches, insomnia, paresis (paralysis).
Complications of tick-borne encephalitis, which has no specific treatment, can also result in death, although, as the infectious disease doctor R. Pundinienė said, the mortality rate is not high (0.5-4%). This disease is more likely to be fatal or with severe residual effects in older people with more co-morbidities – such people usually have a weaker immune system, which makes them more difficult and sick.
Symptoms do not appear immediately
There is a risk of contracting tick-borne encephalitis not only by ingesting an infected tick, but also by consuming raw milk and milk products from animals infected with this infection.
The symptoms of the disease usually do not appear immediately after being bitten by the tick.
“The incubation period is from several to 28-32 days, but usually the first wave of fever appears after the first week, followed by the second period of fever,” said infectious disease doctor R. Pundinienė.
Tick-borne encephalitis is diagnosed by serological tests looking for tick-borne encephalitis antibodies or, if necessary, by performing a lumbar puncture, which looks for an increased number of cells (leukocytes) in the cerebrospinal fluid.
Immunity can be acquired by getting sick or getting vaccinated
Immunity to tick-borne encephalitis can be acquired in two ways: through exposure and vaccination. In the first case, a person acquires immunity for life. It is true that very mild symptoms may occur only in individuals. As mentioned, the disease can be fatal for some, so doctors recommend getting vaccinated.
The vaccine against tick-borne encephalitis is inanimate, so, according to the doctor, everyone can be vaccinated with it: pregnant women, cancer patients, and those with concomitant chronic diseases, as well as children from the age of 1.
Three doses of the vaccine are required to develop full immunity, followed by maintenance doses every 3 or 5 years, depending on the age group.
Would it be enough to pull the tick out in time?
There is currently no vaccine for Lyme disease. It is expected to appear in a few years.
In general, after contracting Lyme disease, it is advised to remove the infected tick as soon as possible and correctly. It is very important to do it correctly – grasp the tick with thin tweezers as close as possible to the human skin and pull the parasite upwards without turning. After this procedure, the extraction site must be disinfected.
Unfortunately, tick-borne encephalitis cannot be avoided even by quickly removing the tick.
“Tick-borne encephalitis is transmitted through a bite, and in the case of Lyme disease, if the tick is removed as soon as possible, the chance of contracting the disease, even after being bitten by an infected tick, remains minimal. In order to transmit Lyme disease, the sucked-in tick must stay in the skin longer – half a day, a day or even longer,” explained doctor R. Pundinienė.
The number of ticks is increasing
It is not uncommon for people to be surprised: previously no one was vaccinated, waded barefoot in the meadows, and no one got either tick-borne encephalitis or Lyme disease. However, the doctor says that people were sick before, but the prevalence of ticks was much lower than now.
“Changing climate conditions, increasing green (non-mowing) areas in cities and settlements are most likely related to the increase and spread of ticks. Therefore, Lyme disease is much more common, and tick-borne encephalitis is becoming more common,” the doctor thought.
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