Comprehensive testing for tick-borne infections: borreliosis, tick-borne encephalitis, ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis (PCR, tick, quality) in Moscow

Tick-borne encephalitis

Tick ​​bite

Borreliosis

15521 November 11

IMPORTANT!

The information in this section cannot be used for self-diagnosis and self-treatment.
In case of pain or other exacerbation of the disease, diagnostic tests should be prescribed only by the attending physician. To make a diagnosis and properly prescribe treatment, you should contact your doctor. We remind you that independent interpretation of the results is unacceptable; the information below is for reference only.

Ixodid tick research: indications for use, rules for preparing for the test, interpretation of the results and normal indicators.

Detailed description of the study

Infections carried by ixodid ticks are dangerous, and their symptoms are similar to each other. Some ticks can carry pathogens of several diseases at once, which complicates the course of the disease and complicates diagnosis.

Tick-borne encephalitis is a viral infection that affects the tissues of the brain and spinal cord and/or their membranes. You can get sick when ixodid ticks are active: in spring and summer. On average, 6 out of 10 ticks carry the virus across the country, but due to the uneven distribution of these insects, the likelihood of infection varies depending on the area. Regions in which a tick bite is likely to cause encephalitis are called endemic. In total, half of the country’s population lives in such territories. We have prepared a visual illustration of the prevalence of tick-borne encephalitis in Russia by region. https://www.gemotest.ru/news/119135/

A complete list of areas endemic for tick-borne encephalitis is provided on the Rospotrebnadzor website (https://www.mossanexpert.ru/novosti/?ELEMENT_ID=3386)

You can get sick not only from a tick bite. Domestic animals and birds can be carriers and sources of infection. Thus, you can become infected by consuming raw goat or cow milk. But tick-borne encephalitis is not transmitted from person to person.

When a virus enters the bloodstream, cells of the immune system capture it, but cannot neutralize it. It multiplies in them, new viral particles enter the lymph nodes, spleen, liver, where re-multiply occurs. When the number of viral particles has been increased, the virus enters the cells of the nervous system and meninges. Clinically, the disease begins acutely after an incubation period (7-35 days). Symptoms increase rapidly: the temperature rises to 38-39 °C, and a feeling of chills occurs. Weakness, drowsiness, headache and muscle pain, and possibly vomiting appear. All this lasts 2-4 days, after which relief occurs, which can be mistaken for recovery. Sometimes this is true, but in 20-30% symptoms return after a week. Due to damage to the nervous system, neurological pathologies are added. Motor disturbances occur: arms and legs begin to twitch or tremble, sometimes on the contrary - motor activity becomes more difficult to the point of paralysis, stiffness of the neck muscles occurs, which manifests itself in the inability to tilt the head or touch the chin to the chest. For the Far Eastern subtype of tick-borne encephalitis, the period of the disease is not typical: the disease begins even more acutely, the nervous system is affected already on days 3-5. The mortality rate from this subtype of the disease is higher: 20% versus 2% of the European form described above.

To prevent the disease, people living in or traveling to endemic regions are vaccinated. Immunity to tick-borne encephalitis develops within a month. If an infected tick bites a person, he is injected with anti-encephalitis serum. It is effective only for 4 days from the moment the tick bites. This is less than the incubation period, therefore, for timely measures to prevent infection, in the event of a tick bite, it must be submitted to the laboratory for analysis without waiting for the manifestations of the disease.

Lyme disease (borelliosis) is the most common tick-borne disease in the Northern Hemisphere. The most characteristic manifestation of the disease is a ring-shaped redness at the site of the bite, which is called erythema vagus. Erythema occurs on average 7-10 days after the bite, although this does not always happen. Even if redness does not appear, a tick bite is a reason to test the tick for Lyme borelliosis without waiting for symptoms of the disease, which on average appear two weeks from the moment of the bite. They include fever, weakness, headache and muscle pain. Sometimes cough, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea appear, and joint pain is often noted. As you can see, they are nonspecific - from the clinical picture it is difficult to understand that this is Lyme disease. Most often, the joints, nervous system and skin are affected as a result. The effectiveness of therapy and the outcome of the disease depend on timely diagnosis: without treatment, it can lead to disability and even death.

The nonspecificity of symptoms is due to the fact that the causative agent of the disease, a spiral-shaped bacterium (spirochete) of the genus Borrelia, affects various tissues and organs. Spirochetes enter the human body with the saliva of a tick during a bite.

You can become infected from May to September, especially likely in places where tick-borne encephalitis is endemic. If the ixodid tick carries pathogens of both diseases, a mixed infection may occur.

Two other diseases transmitted by Ixodid ticks are granulocytic anaplasmosis and monocytic ehrlichiosis. These are bacterial diseases. The causative agent of the first of them, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, affects granulocytes, cells of the immune system. The second disease is caused by bacteria of the genus Ehrlichia, they multiply in monocytes. Hence the names of these diseases. The symptoms of these infections are nonspecific and similar to each other: fever, weakness, headaches. They usually begin to appear within 12 days after the tick bite. In severe cases of the disease, damage to the skin, liver, kidneys, central nervous system, and bone marrow is noted. The infection is severe and has a high mortality rate, especially among immunocompromised people.

Where to submit a tick for analysis in Moscow

To obtain accurate results from testing an insect for infections, it is necessary that it remains alive at the time of transmission. Some institutions accept dead individuals and even their fragments, but the diagnostic accuracy is significantly reduced. Ticks for analysis in Moscow are accepted at the following addresses:

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What documents are needed

The responsibility for ensuring that the tick is checked for infectious agents rests with the affected person. Before taking an insect to a laboratory or medical center, you need to check with the institution’s staff by telephone whether they accept individuals for research. When handing over a copy, medical personnel will need to provide information about the location, approximate time of the bite, and present the following documents:

• medical insurance policy;
• passport;
• insurance contract - if you have insurance, all costs for extracting and examining the tick, as well as responsibilities for delivering the insect for analysis, are borne by the insurance company.

References

1. Tick-borne viral encephalitis in adults. Clinical guidelines of the National Scientific Society of Infectious Diseases, 2014 2. https://www.rospotrebnadzor.ru/about/info/predpr/news_predpr.php?ELEMENT_ID=14010&sphrase_id... 3. Lyme disease in adults. Clinical recommendations of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 2016 4. Klimova Yu.A. et al. Human granulocytic anaplasmosis // Bulletin of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia. Series: Medicine, 2022 5. Zlobin V.I. Tick-borne vector-borne infections // V.I. Zlobin, N.V. Rudakov, I.V. Malov. – Novosibirsk: Nauka, 2015. – 224 p.

How to remove a tick from your body?

It must be remembered that it is advisable to deliver the tick alive for analysis. Not all medical institutions take dead parasites for examination, and the results of analysis of a live tick are more reliable. You need to try to remove the insect from the body in such a way as not to crush or tear it.

The tick attaches itself to the human body with its proboscis, with the help of which it sucks blood. It is necessary to remove the insect along with this organ, being careful not to tear the body. If insect parts remain under the skin, inflammation may occur.

There are several ways to extract parasites:

1. The easiest way is to use tweezers. The insect's body is grabbed as close to the surface of the skin as possible. The parasite is then pulled out using rotational movements. You should not just pull the body up, as this can tear it. Usually, after a few rotations, the insect easily comes out of the wound along with the proboscis.
2. Nowadays, special devices for removing ticks are sold. It is useful to purchase them and have them with you when going for a walk in the forest or park. This device resembles a hook with two teeth (like a fork). The insect's body is clamped between the teeth and twisted out of the wound using rotational movements, just like with tweezers.
3. If the bite occurred in the field and you do not have any devices with you, you can use a thread or thin cord. You need to make a loop and throw it over the insect’s body closer to the proboscis. Then remove the parasite using side-to-side movements.
4. It is highly undesirable to remove the parasite with your fingers. This way you can crush it or rupture the body. Many clinics only accept whole insects for analysis.
5. If the parasite could not be pulled out entirely, then the proboscis is removed from under the skin with a sterile needle, like a splinter.
6. Then wash your hands and tools thoroughly, and lubricate the wound with iodine.

Sometimes people make mistakes when removing ticks from their bodies. As a result, the insect becomes unsuitable for analysis. In addition, you can harm yourself. When removing parasites from the body, the following actions should not be taken:

1. Pouring oil on an insect. There is a misconception that this helps remove the parasite. But actually it is not. This will kill the tick as it will choke on the oil. It will no longer be possible to deliver the insect alive for research. In addition, the parasite may regurgitate blood back into the wound, increasing the risk of infection.
2. Drag the tick with sudden movements. This way you can break it.
3. Try to burn the parasite with a cigarette, a lit match, or burning liquids (vinegar, gasoline). This will only lead to burns. No cauterization will save you from infection, and the burned remains of the insect will become unsuitable for analysis.

Are animals a risk factor?

The need to feed on blood has developed in the tick in the process of evolution a very wide range of donor hosts - from rodents and birds to dogs and humans (for example, in the USA the most common tick is called the deer tick).

Therefore, dog owners need to be especially careful: ticks that stick to their pets while walking can spread to humans.

Thus, American scientists who studied households in areas where ticks are often found found that if there is a dog or cat in the house that roams freely on the street, then the likelihood of finding a tick on one of the household members is twice as high as in families without pets.

To be fair, it should be noted that more frequent exposure to ticks on oneself has not led to an increase in the incidence of tick-borne infections among pet owners.

What is Invitro

Russian company providing services in the field of laboratory diagnostics. Laboratories are located in 200 cities of the Russian Federation, and there are representative offices in other countries of the former CIS. Diagnostics are carried out by highly qualified specialists using modern equipment.

The main advantage of the center is its 24-hour operation. Information about the nearest laboratory location can be obtained on the official website of the clinic. A preliminary meeting can be arranged by telephone. The results, depending on the research methods, are ready on the day the material is submitted or within 2 weeks. You can find out about them in a personal conversation with a doctor, by phone, or by email.

What complications are possible?

Today, many people are interested in questions about what complications may arise after tick-borne encephalitis. According to statistical data, with the febrile and meningeal form of the disease, the prognosis for patients is quite favorable - treatment is easy without any consequences.

But other forms of the disease can be extremely dangerous. Some patients develop epilepsy. The meningoencephalitic type of the disease can lead to severe swelling of the brain, which often ends in coma and death of the patient. Sometimes tick-borne encephalitis affects the cranial nerves, which leads to irreversible consequences such as speech impairment, strabismus, paralysis of the muscles of the neck, limbs or torso, as well as a nasal voice and problems with swallowing.

In some cases, after suffering from an illness, the patient develops, which leads to disability. In fact, complications after encephalitis can be different. This is why well-executed therapy is so important.