When summer comes, we spend more and more time in parks, gardens, forests and others in "green" areas. There will be active ticks in them until October. Although doctors emphasize that we must protect ourselves from diseases caused by these insects, we know little about the viruses that ticks infect animals with.
Tick-borne encephalitis is dangerous for everyone
Rasa Sirutkaitytė, deputy head of the Animal Health and Welfare Department of the State Food and Veterinary Service (VMVT), says that tick-borne encephalitis is one of the most dangerous viral diseases for both humans and animals. In Lithuania, it is spread by the so-called European forest tick - ixodes ricinus.
R. Sirutkaitytė assures that not only dogs are sick with diseases caused by ticks, but also cows, sheep, goats, and horses. Even wild animals such as wolves or foxes can also be sick and infected with tick-borne encephalitis. However, the biggest threat is not the sick animals themselves. Ticks infect goats and cows, and humans become infected by consuming raw milk or its products from such animals. According to the researcher, the tick-borne encephalitis virus persists in milk and its products for quite a long time, it is resistant to acidic medium and heat, it can survive in milk for up to 2 months. The VMVT worker advises to boil milk before consumption, because in this case the tick-borne encephalitis virus is killed within 2 minutes. The scientist does not recommend consuming thermally untreated milk and its products. She advises farmers to use mite-repellants (repellents) to protect animals, as well as not to graze animals in thickets, tall grass, meadows, forests and wet areas, and to systematically fight rodents in animal housing facilities.
What about dogs and cats?
According to the VMVT representative, dogs are usually diagnosed with babesiosis. It manifests itself in the fact that, after being sucked in by a tick, the causative agents of babesiosis enter the dog's blood and destroy red blood cells (erythrocytes). After about a week, the dog's owner may notice that the animal becomes lethargic, apathetic, loses its appetite, starts to have a fever, the dog's mucous membrane turns pale, it may vomit or have diarrhea. Babesiosis is more susceptible to young dogs, as well as animals with a weakened immune system, having many parasites or affected by other infections.
Other common tick-borne diseases in dogs are ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis. Symptoms of these diseases include fever, loss of appetite, apathy, weight loss, bleeding from the eyes, nose, and swollen limbs. Some animals may vomit, have diarrhea, cough, or have difficulty breathing.
A dog can also get Lyme disease, or Lyme disease, which is also contagious to humans. Lyme disease is dangerous for a dog because it can develop inflammation of the joints, the animal begins to limp, loses its appetite, is sensitive to touch, and has enlarged lymph nodes. Lyme disease is insidious and late, as signs of the disease may appear 1-2 or even 5 months after ingesting an infected tick.
The VMVT scientist explains that the mentioned diseases can also occur in cats, but their symptoms are often milder. Nevertheless, cat owners should also pay attention to minor deteriorations in the health of these animals. A cat with Lyme disease is usually only slightly limp. Fortunately, treatment was started in time and she recovered quickly. Feline babesiosis, in R. Sirutkaitytė's opinion, is a more serious disease. "Cats infected with it lose their appetite, lose weight and develop anemia. Sometimes jaundice, vomiting, and breathing problems can occur," explains the VMVT employee. She reassures that ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis in cats, in contrast to dogs, are very rarely detected.
R. Sirutkaitytė advises pet owners who have noticed the above-mentioned symptoms to contact veterinarians as soon as possible, because an untreated disease can end very badly for the animal.
The scientist points out that it is very important to carefully examine the dog or cat every time you return from the field. Once a tick is found, it should be removed as soon as possible, as this parasite does not always die in less than 24 hours. transmission of pathogens during the period of ingestion and feeding. The sucked-in tick should be grasped with tweezers as close to the skin as possible. In order to unhook it, it is recommended to move it to the sides and slowly pull it out by turning it counter-clockwise. The bite site should be disinfected with an alcohol solution.
For prophylaxis, R. Sirutkaitytė advises the use of special preparations: medicated drops, sprays, collars, which can be purchased at veterinary pharmacies.
Disease cases are more and more dangerous
Despite the previously listed animal diseases, it should be remembered that tick-borne diseases are also very dangerous for humans. Milda Žygutienė, a medical entomologist at the Infectious Diseases and AIDS Center (ULAC), provides the following figures: 7 cases of tick-borne encephalitis and 181 cases of Lyme disease were diagnosed in Lithuania alone during the months of January-April this year. Last year, 633 cases of tick-borne encephalitis were registered. The number of Lyme disease cases was much higher: 2915 cases.
Speaking about Vilnius county, the ULAC entomologist notes that in Vilnius county this m. January-April 13 cases of Lyme disease were diagnosed, but not a single case of tick-borne encephalitis. But last year, 129 cases of tick-borne encephalitis and 907 cases of Lyme disease were diagnosed in the capital county.
The number of cases of this disease is increasing. According to ULAC data, compared to 2015 numerically, the incidence rates of tick-borne diseases have increased significantly. Lyme disease cases increased by 31 percent, and tick-borne encephalitis by as much as 91 percent. ULAC researchers speculate that climate change is one of the possible causes.
It is also not very comforting that Vilnius is the city most "sick" of tick-borne encephalitis. According to ULAC data, in 2015 49 cases of tick-borne encephalitis were diagnosed in Vilnius alone, when at the same time Beautiful - only 29.
According to experts, the most dangerous places in the capital are Bukčiai Forest and Vingo Park.
Author of the article: Evelina Knutovič
