What is the danger of tick-borne borreliosis?

Ixodic tick-borne borreliosis is an acute infectious disease, with a predominant lesion of the skin, joints, central nervous system, and cardiovascular system. If left untreated, the disease progresses and can lead to horrific consequences.

Currently, the disease is registered almost everywhere in the territories of Russia, including the Lipetsk region, where there are its main carriers – ixod mites.

What are the main signs of the disease?

The incubation (hidden) period lasts more often than 14 days, with fluctuations from 1 to 30 days. At the site of the tick's suction, redness of the skin may appear, which is a diagnostic sign of the disease. In the future, it may disappear, and later-appear in another place. From the clinical signs, a slight malaise, an increase in body temperature to 37-38 C may also appear.

How can you get infected?

Most often, ticks are attached to a person's clothing in the forest, when he moves, touching the branches of trees, pushing aside shrubs and grass, or sits on the grass, as well as when ticks are carried by animals (dogs, cats).

How does a tick bite happen?

From the moment the tick crawls on a person's clothes to the moment of the bite itself, several hours pass. At the same time, its attachment and suction to the body in most cases go unnoticed. On the human body, ticks are most often attached to the skin in the hairy part of the back of the head, neck, in the axillary and inguinal areas, in the navel area, under the shoulder blades and along the spine, where clothing is less tightly attached to the surface of the body.

Who is most at risk?

The greatest risk is exposed to persons whose activities are associated with staying in the forest – workers of forestry enterprises, builders of roads and railways, hunters, tourists. Citizens are infected in suburban forests, forest parks, and garden plots.

How to protect yourself?

To protect yourself from ticks, wear special clothing and periodically inspect your clothes and body, as well as use repellents: repellents that treat exposed areas of the body and clothing; acaricidal agents that treat clothing. The correct use of such drugs provides an efficiency of up to 100%.

Chief freelance specialist in infectious diseases of the Health Department of the Lipetsk region Sirotinkina Lilia Viktorovna.