As the weather warms up, Lithuania is entering the tick season. Some tick-borne diseases prevalent in this part of Europe are particularly perilous, medics warn, and people should beware of ticks when camping or strolling in nature.
In Lithuania, the two most common tick-borne diseases are Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE). The latter is more dangerous, but vaccines are available for inoculation against TBE.
Jovita Aleknienė, a pharmacist at Eurovaistinė, tells LRT.lt that the incubation period for both is about two weeks.
“Sometimes this period can be longer or shorter, so you should keep a close eye on your body throughout this time. TBE can be contracted within 10 minutes of ingestion because the virus is present in the saliva of the tick. Meanwhile, Lyme disease can be contracted within a day or two, so a good preventive measure is to check your body [after being in nature] for ticks,” says Aleknienė.
According to the pharmacist, the symptoms of TBE are similar to those of influenza: a low-grade fever, pain in the head, muscles and neck.
“If you feel these symptoms, you should seek medical attention immediately. Lyme disease symptoms are mostly skin lesions: redness may appear at the site of the bite […]. It is important to monitor your body and react to changes,” she stresses.
If one finds a tick, one should remove it immediately, but not necessarily seek medical attention right away.
“Pulling [a tick] should be done with tweezers in a straight, quick motion. Once the tick has been pulled out, the area should be disinfected. Sometimes, when pulling, the flagellum breaks away from the body and you cannot cut, remove or scratch it. Just disinfect the skin and continue to monitor the skin for lesions that could signal a possible infection,” says the pharmacist.
She stresses that vaccines against TBE are effective, but it is also advisable to protect oneself by choosing appropriate clothing, using repellents and special sprays to protect against ticks.
“When using sprays, it is always advisable to read the instructions carefully, explaining who can use the spray and how to do it. The spray should not be applied to the entire skin surface, but in specific areas: near the ears, on the hands and ankles. If the spray is oil-based, even if you apply it to your feet only, the smell will spread upwards,” says Aleknienė.
Paralysis, seizures, loss of coordination
Rimvydas Blynas, pharmacist at Camelia, says that the main way to protect oneself from TBE is to get vaccinated.
“Tick-borne encephalitis is a disease for which there is no specific cure. It can damage the meninges, is very dangerous and the best protection against it is vaccination.”
Two vaccine shots are needed to build up immunity, he says. Ideally, the first shot should be administered in winter or early spring and the second, one to three months later. Immunity builds up two weeks after the second vaccination.
“A more rapid schedule is also possible – the second dose can be given two weeks after the first one. Soon the ticks will be active and hungry after the winter, attacking both animals and humans,” says Blynas.
When going into forests or parks, people are advised cover as much of their body as possible and use tick repellents. TBE, he says, is a very insidious and dangerous disease.
“First there is the incubation period. After the tick bite, there are no symptoms at first and the person feels fine. After an average of five days, symptoms such as fever, general weakness, headache, muscle pain start. These symptoms subside but are often followed by a period of frequent nausea,” says Blynas.
The person may think the disease has passed, about two weeks later it gets worse again. “This means that the virus is multiplying in the brain and the symptoms may be more serious – fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, stiff neck, muscle aches, loss of consciousness, coordination problems.”
What happens next depends on which part of the brain is affected, according to Blynas.
“There may be partial paralysis of the body and similar symptoms. The mortality rate of tick-borne encephalitis is not low, between 0.5 and 2 percent. There may be long-term residual effects such as paralysis, seizures and loss of coordination,” warns the pharmacist.
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