Specialists of the Vilnius Department of the National Public Health Center (NVSC), who monitor the abundance and distribution of ticks in places popular with Vilnius residents and city guests, where, according to the data of the last few years, cases of infection with tick-borne diseases have been recorded, point out that the situation does not fundamentally change: there , where people choose to spend their free time in the gama, there are also plenty of these arachnids. In just a few hours, more than half a dozen ticks were collected for laboratory examination - to determine whether they are infected with the causative agents of Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis.
"The statistics are merciless - according to the incidence of tick-borne encephalitis, which damages the brain and nervous system and often irreversibly destroys a person's life, we are one of the leaders in Europe in a bad sense, the situation is similar when assessing cases of Lyme disease. This means that almost every year, considering that the duration of tick activity in nature is increasing, we face a risk. This is confirmed by colleagues' monitoring of the abundance of ticks in places highly visited by people," reminds R. Lingienė.
The monitoring of the abundance of ticks was carried out in the geomorphological reserve of Šeškinė slopes, in the forests near the Green Lakes, in the Nemenčinė forests near the paths visited by vacationers, the results are expected in the near future.
NVSC specialists remind that the most effective means to protect against tick-borne encephalitis are vaccinations. Vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis is available all year round.
There is no vaccine against Lyme disease, only general preventive measures protect against it. When going outside, it is recommended to wear clothes as light as possible so that a larger part of the body is covered. It is also recommended to use repellents - chemicals that repel ticks - when in the forest, park or garden - avoid sitting or lying on the grass. After returning from the field, it is advised to carefully examine the body and change clothes.
NVSC specialists remind that the sucked-in tick should be pulled out as soon as possible - grasp it as close to the skin as possible, do not press the body, do not twist or grease it, just pull it upwards with a sudden movement. If it was not possible to completely remove the tick and the head remains, there is no need to do anything, the body will remove it by itself as a foreign body. After removing the tick, it is recommended to disinfect the suction site.
Last year, 2 cases of Lyme disease were registered in Lithuania, the incidence rate was 380 per cent. 84,0 thousand population and 100 cases of tick-borne encephalitis, incidence rate - 377 cases. 13,3 thousand population (100 death case). The mortality rate from tick-borne encephalitis in Europe is 1-0,5%. About one-third of people who contract tick-borne encephalitis do not fully recover, that is, they have residual symptoms of the disease.
