In the US, a growing number of diseases transmitted by ticks

Фото: Depositphotos

Epidemiologists warn that this year the number of active ticks in American forests is more than recently. This means that thousands of people are at risk of catching Lyme disease, public health officials say.

Risks will increase if wet weather prevails during the summer, which is an ideal habitat for ticks.

The number of ticks and diseases they suffer has been on the rise in recent decades. This, in turn, has contributed to forest restoration and climate change. For example, a warm winter allowed a large number of rodents and mammals to survive, which are carriers of ticks.

“Reports of tick-borne infections are on the rise. The range of ticks that carry diseases is expanding,” health officials noted.

Lyme disease - the most common disease that can be infected by a tick - in 2015, 25 affected thousands of people. Most people were infected in the northeast and north of the Midwest. For comparison, 20 years ago, this figure was 10 thousands of victims. This disease causes fever, headache and fatigue. If not treated properly, the infection spreads to the heart and nervous system.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports an increase in the incidence of diseases of the Povassan virus, which causes neurological damage. This potentially life-threatening virus is transmitted and transmitted by three types of ticks, including deer ticks, which also transmit Lyme disease.

Experts note that the risk group includes primarily newborns, young people up to 20 years old, the elderly, and persons with weakened immunity.

According to the doctor, the spread of infection is most likely in late spring, early summer and mid-autumn, when ticks are most active. Doctors said that approximately 15% of patients do not cope with the infection and die. About 50% of people infected with the virus receive various complications for a lifetime. It is very important to consult a doctor in time. The most common symptoms of Povassana disease are fever and headache.

Going to the forest, observe the measures of individual protection against tick attacks:

• wear special protective suits;
• Give preference to light-colored clothing in order to quickly detect crawling mites;
• process clothes with repellents (anti-mite sprays - Reftamid, Moskitol);
• conduct self-examination and examination of animals in order to detect ticks;
• when removing a tick, place it in a vial without destroying it, and take it to a laboratory for research;
• do not try to remove the tick from the clothes or from the body with your hands - use tweezers;
• consult an infectious disease physician on the same day.

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