Tick season has begun in Russia. Rospotrebnadzor named Izvestia 16 regions where they are currently most active. The agency warns that the epidemiological situation regarding tick-borne encephalitis this year will remain tense, requiring the use of serious preventive measures. Acaricidal treatments are planned for an area of more than 350 thousand hectares, including more than 56 thousand hectares in the territory of children's camps. And 1.5 billion rubles will be allocated for the purchase of vaccines.
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"Active" regions
According to Rospotrebnadzor data obtained by Izvestia, the beginning of the tick activity season in 2022 was registered in January-February in the Southern Federal District. The first bites were noted in the Republic of Crimea, Krasnodar and Stavropol territories. And in April, ticks woke up in 16 regions: Astrakhan, Rostov, Belgorod, Voronezh, Lipetsk, Kaliningrad, Sverdlovsk, Irkutsk regions, Khakassia, Buryatia, Tyva, Krasnoyarsk and Altai regions were added.
As of mid-April, there have been no cases of tick-borne infections yet (as was the case last year by this time). Rospotrebnadzor attributes the 15 episodes of borreliosis infection in Crimea mentioned in the media to last year’s infections.
Ticks-1
Photo: RIA Novosti/Alexander Kryazhev
Caught in pincers
A focus of encephalitis has been discovered in Moscow, but the territory of the capital is still considered safe
The supervisor noted that the number of reported cases of ticks attaching to people has decreased, and attributes this to the fact that the areas of acaricidal treatments have increased. However, this should not reassure Russians - Rospotrebnadzor predicts that this year the epidemiological situation with tick-borne encephalitis will remain tense and serious preventive measures will be required.
The largest number of tick-borne viral encephalitis (TBE) diseases in 2022 was registered in the Krasnoyarsk and Perm territories, Kirov, Novosibirsk, Kemerovo, Sverdlovsk, Vologda, Tyumen and Irkutsk regions. And tick-borne borreliosis - in the Sverdlovsk, Kirov, Moscow, Vologda, Novosibirsk regions, St. Petersburg, Perm, Primorsky and Krasnoyarsk territories.
Vaccination is the path to salvation
By going to the Rospotrebnadzor website and following the links to the “Sanitary and Epidemiological Situation” section, you can find a list of medical institutions that provide vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis. You may qualify for free vaccination if you live in or intend to travel to a dangerous area. The state will also provide you with vaccination if you work in these areas.
In other cases, you will have to pay for the vaccine yourself. As always, before vaccination, you have to choose which drug is best to use. We advise you to opt for drugs that are produced in Germany and Austria.
Hare–tick–man
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Rospotrebnadzor clarifies that in total there are 48 territories in Russia that are endemic to viral encephalitis. According to the list compiled by the federal service at the end of January 2022, 19 regions are recognized as completely endemic (among them the most popular among tourists are the Vologda, Kaliningrad, Leningrad, Novgorod regions, Sevastopol, the Altai Republic and the Altai Territory). In another 29 regions, the virus has spread to parts of the territory.
Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor, Head of the Laboratory of Arbovirus Biology, Institute of Poliomyelitis and Viral Encephalitis named after. M.P. Chumakova Galina Karganova explained to Izvestia that regions in which the virus circulates are considered endemic: that is, ticks infect animals, and they transmit the pathogen to other ticks. And in this territory, cases of the disease have been recorded for several years in a row. The boundaries of endemic regions are expanding due to animal migration.
Ticks
Photo: RIA Novosti/Igor Zarembo
There are pseudo-foci where the virus is regularly brought in. So, Muscovites get infected in other places, but get sick at home. Therefore, diagnosis and prevention need to be carried out in the capital, although this is not an endemic region.
Earlier, Izvestia wrote that in 2022, a case of a human being bitten by an encephalitis tick was recorded in the capital; in 2016, there was also one victim.
Plaque is normal
Should residents of other regions be wary of the “Voronezh” mosquito invasion?
Doctor of Medical Sciences, professor, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, epidemiologist Mikhail Mikhailov explained to Izvestia that ticks become active with the onset of heat. And global warming leads to an increase in the activity and distribution area of these arthropods. This phenomenon has been observed in recent years. And the problem will remain acute.
Cold fog treatment
When treating an area using this method, the drug crystallizes into particles whose size does not exceed 30 - 90 microns. For clarity: the latest generation pump sprayer is capable of dispensing drops of a working solution whose size is at least 300 - 600 microns. Such application of an ultra-thin layer of the drug has a number of advantages:
- No excess of the permissible concentration of chemicals in one place;
- Reduction of work time by at least three times (compared to other methods);
- Long-term residual effect on harmful insects;
- Penetration ability increased tenfold (compared to a manual pump sprayer).
Treatment for years
The country's biggest peak in tick bites was in the late 1990s, when there were 10,000 reported cases per year. And for the last four to five years, about 2 thousand cases per year have been recorded in Russia. The fatality rate is approximately 2.5%.
“Rehabilitation after tick-borne encephalitis can take years,” said Galina Karganova. “Sometimes the disease leads to paralysis and people become disabled. About a third of those who have recovered have residual lesions of varying severity. And every year the number of such people increases simply due to the cumulative effect.
According to Mikhail Mikhailov, the problem with the incidence of tick-borne encephalitis could be solved by more widespread vaccination of the population.
In Russia, mass vaccinations against TBEV are currently only carried out in endemic areas.
Ticks
Photo: RIA Novosti/Igor Zarembo
Galina Karganova clarified that since the vaccine is inactivated, booster vaccinations are required. Tick-borne encephalitis is very rarely reported in vaccinated people—only in about 5% of cases—but the disease, as a rule, is mild.
Bloodlust
How to protect yourself and your pets from ticks
The incidence of borreliosis (Lyme disease) is higher than TBE, but its mortality rate is not as high. However, borreliosis causes complications in the joints, heart, eyes and other organs. There is no vaccine for it, but it can be treated with antibiotics.
Ticks carry not only encephalitis and borreliosis. In Russia, from these arthropods you can become infected with tularemia, babesiosis (usually dogs get it, but sometimes the disease is transmitted to weakened people), anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, rickettsiosis and many other diseases. The most dangerous of them are encephalitis, borreliosis, anaplasmosis and rickettsiosis. The latter is especially common in Siberia.
— The severity of the disease depends, among other things, on the dose of the virus that a person received from a tick. The dose depends on the duration of suction. For example, to get borreliosis, you usually need to “feed” the tick for more than 12 hours, explained Galina Karganova.
Rospotrebnadzor named the best way to protect against tick-borne encephalitis
Season starts in April
The Moscow region department of Rospotrebnadzor "RG" said that the number of victims of ticks increases sharply every year during the May holidays - here the seasonal activation of ticks and the mass exodus of people for picnics and summer cottages overlap each other.
Infectious disease experts say that ticks are moisture-loving, so they are most abundant near bodies of water and in shaded forests with thick grass. Many dangerous insects are also found in forest ravines, forest edges, and willow thickets on the banks of forest streams. That is, just where it is so convenient to lay out a blanket and have your first almost summer vacation in nature. “The results of observations from past years indicate that the tick-biting season in the Moscow region begins in the second ten days of April,” notes Rospotrebnadzor. — Their numbers increase rapidly, reaching a maximum by the beginning of the second ten days of May, and remain high until the middle or end of June, depending on the weather. Then it decreases sharply due to the extinction of ticks, whose reserve nutrients are depleted.”
What now, don’t go to nature and lock yourself in a city apartment until July? There is no need for such sacrifices - to protect yourself, it is enough to follow a few simple rules. The main ones are to tuck outerwear into pants, and pants into socks. It may not be fashionable, but it makes it much more difficult for ticks to reach open areas of the skin, and they don’t bite through clothing. In this case, you should avoid fabrics of dark shades, as it is more difficult to notice dangerous insects on them. You should not leave your head or neck uncovered - use a headdress, scarf or hood. Clothing should also be treated with a special aerosol - today you can buy them in almost any store or pharmacy. But you should approach the choice carefully - it is better to give preference to acaricidal or insecticidal-repellent agents. Simple repellent preparations, although less toxic and suitable for application to the skin, may still not cope with ticks.
Free vaccinations against viral tick-borne encephalitis can be done today in all Moscow clinics
“The products should be applied to clothing in ring strips, especially carefully treating areas around the ankles, knees, hips, waist, as well as at the sleeve cuffs and collar,” advise Rospotrebnadzor. “When using this or that product, be sure to read the instructions and follow their instructions.”
Precautionary measures when visiting forests near Moscow
Overwintered ticks can hide in dry leaves and grass. After hibernation, they need food, so the beginning of spring is the time to look for prey. Ticks cling to all warm-blooded creatures that they meet on their way, these are mice, hedgehogs, hares, cats, dogs, which spread ticks even more throughout the regions of Russia. If you are going to the country or live outside the city, be sure to carry out tick prevention in your area - remove dry branches, leaves and grass, and then treat the area against ticks with special products, such as Tsifoks
,
Taran
,
Sipaz Super
,
Baytex
,
Akarotsid
,
Breeze
,
Akaritoks
.
Ticks usually hide in tall grass, so after a walk through a forest or field, be sure to conduct a self-examination for the presence of parasites. Try to wear closed clothes, no matter how hot it is. Clothing should fit snugly to the body, sleeves should fit snugly around the wrist.
Wear a hat. Although ticks rarely rise to a height of more than one and a half meters and cannot fly, it is better to protect yourself, because you can bend over for the first flower and pick up a pest from a nearby branch right on your hair. Treat your clothes with anti-tick spray, since there is a very large selection of ticks in stores. Do not spray chemicals intended for clothing on your skin!
