How to recognize the symptoms of an encephalitis tick bite? Encephalitis tick - how does the dangerous virus manifest itself? Signs after an encephalitis tick bite

Everyone is afraid of tick bites, because everyone knows about the possible dangerous consequences such a short-term encounter with a blood-sucking insect. Except unpleasant sensation, a tick bite threatens to become infected with a viral infection - tick-borne encephalitis, the outcome of which can be very sad.

What kind of infection is this - tick-borne encephalitis virus? How does the disease caused by it manifest itself? Is it possible to cure this disease and what complications threaten the patient? What does the prevention of tick-borne encephalitis consist of?

What is tick-borne encephalitis

Tick-borne encephalitis is a viral natural focal infection that is transmitted after tick bites and primarily affects the central nervous system. The causative agent of tick-borne encephalitis belongs to the Flavivirus family of viruses, which are transmitted by arthropods.

This disease has many clinical manifestations. Scientists tried for a long time to study the disease, but only in the first half of the 20th century (in 1935) were they able to identify the causative agent of tick-borne encephalitis. A little later, it was possible to fully describe the virus, the diseases it causes, and how the human body reacts to it.

This virus has the following features:

reproduces in vectors, the reservoir in nature is the tick;
the tick-borne encephalitis virus is tropic, or, in other words, tends to the nervous tissue;
active reproduction begins in the spring-summer period from the moment of “awakening” of ticks and tick-borne encephalitis;
the virus does not live long without a host, it is quickly destroyed by ultraviolet radiation;
when heated to 60 °C, it is destroyed in 10 minutes, boiling kills the causative agent of tick-borne encephalitis in just two minutes;
He doesn't like chlorine solutions or Lysol.

How does tick-borne encephalitis become infected?

The main reservoir and source of infection are ixodid ticks. How does the tick-borne encephalitis virus enter the insect's body? 5–6 days after the bite of an infected animal in a natural outbreak, the pathogen penetrates all organs of the tick and concentrates mainly in the reproductive and digestive systems, salivary glands. The virus remains there for the entire life cycle of the insect, which is from two to four years. And all this time, after a tick bites an animal or person, tick-borne encephalitis is transmitted.

Absolutely every resident of an area where there are outbreaks of infection can become infected. These statistics are disappointing for humans.

Depending on the region, the number of infected ticks ranges from 1–3% to 15–20%.
Any animal can be a natural reservoir of infection: hedgehogs, moles, chipmunks, squirrels and voles and about 130 other species of mammals.
According to epidemiology, tick-borne encephalitis is widespread from Central Europe to Eastern Russia.
Some species of birds are also among the possible carriers - hazel grouse, finches, thrushes.
There are known cases of human infection with tick-borne encephalitis after consuming milk from tick-infected domestic animals.
The first peak of the disease is recorded in May-June, the second - at the end of summer.

Routes of transmission of tick-borne encephalitis: transmissible, during a bite by an infected tick, and nutritional - after eating contaminated foods.

The effect of tick-borne encephalitis virus in the human body

The place of frequent localization of the pathogen in the insect body is the digestive system, reproductive system and salivary glands. How does the tick-borne encephalitis virus behave after it enters the human body? The pathogenesis of tick-borne encephalitis can be described as follows.

During its course, the disease is conventionally divided into several periods. The initial phase occurs without visible clinical manifestations. Next comes the phase of neurological changes. It is characterized by typical clinical manifestations of the disease with damage to all parts of the nervous system.

The outcome of tick-borne encephalitis occurs in the form of three main options:

recovery with gradual long-term recovery;
transition of the disease to chronic form;
death of a person infected with tick-borne encephalitis.

The first signs of tick-borne encephalitis

The first days are the easiest and at the same time dangerous in the development of the disease. Lungs - since there are no clinical manifestations of the disease yet, there is no hint of the development of infection. Dangerous - because due to the lack obvious signs You can miss time and encephalitis will develop with full force.

Incubation period tick-borne encephalitis sometimes reaches 21 days, but on average lasts from 10 days to two weeks. If the virus enters through contaminated products, it is shortened and lasts only a few days (no more than 7).

In approximately 15% of cases, after a short incubation period, prodromal phenomena are observed, but they are nonspecific, and it is difficult to suspect this particular disease.

The first signs of tick-borne encephalitis appear:

weakness and fatigue;
various options sleep disorders;
a feeling of numbness in the skin of the face or torso may develop;
One of the common signs of tick-borne encephalitis is various variants of radicular pain, in other words, unrelated pain appears along the nerves extending from spinal cord- in the arms, legs, shoulders and other areas;
already at this stage of tick-borne encephalitis are possible mental disorders when absolutely healthy man starts to behave unusually.

Symptoms of tick-borne encephalitis

From the moment the tick-borne encephalitis virus enters the blood, the symptoms of the disease become more pronounced.

During an examination of a person, the doctor detects the following changes in the condition:

V acute period tick-borne encephalitis, the face, skin of the neck and body are reddened, the eyes are injected (hyperemic);
arterial pressure decreases, the heartbeat becomes rare, changes appear on the cardiogram indicating conduction disturbances;
during the height of tick-borne encephalitis, breathing quickens and shortness of breath appears at rest, sometimes doctors record signs of developing pneumonia;
the tongue is covered with a white coating, as if affected digestive system, bloating and constipation appear.

Forms of tick-borne encephalitis

Depending on the location of the pathogen in the human central nervous system, various symptoms course of the disease. An experienced manifestation specialist can guess which area of the nervous system has been attacked by the virus.

Eat various shapes tick-borne encephalitis.

Diagnostics

Diagnosis of tick-borne encephalitis, as a rule, is delayed due to the blurred initial clinical picture. In the first days of the disease, patients complain of general symptoms, so the doctor refers the person for general clinical examinations.

What can you find in general analysis blood? The level of blood neutrophils increases and ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate) accelerates. You can already suspect brain damage. At the same time, there is a decrease in glucose in blood tests, and protein appears in the urine. But based on these tests alone, it is still difficult to draw a conclusion about the presence of any disease.

Other research methods help to finally determine the diagnosis.

The virological method for detecting tick-borne encephalitis is the detection or isolation of the virus from the blood or cerebrospinal fluid during the first week of illness, followed by infection of laboratory mice.
More accurate and faster serological studies blood RSK, ELISA, RPGA, paired blood sera of a sick person are taken with an interval of 2–3 weeks.

It is important to fully collect information about the development of the disease before starting the examination. Already at this stage a diagnosis can be assumed.

Consequences of tick-borne encephalitis

Recovery from tick-borne encephalitis can take several months.

The European form of the disease is an exception; cure occurs quickly without minimal residual effects, but untimely initiation of treatment can complicate the disease and in 1–2% of cases leads to fatal outcome.

As for other forms of the disease, the prognosis here is not so favorable. The fight against the consequences sometimes lasts from three weeks to four months.

The consequences of tick-borne encephalitis in humans include all kinds of neurological and psychiatric complications. They are observed in 10–20% of cases. For example, if during the course of the disease a person had a decrease in immunity, this will lead to persistent paresis and paralysis.

In practice, fulminant forms of tick-borne encephalitis have been encountered, leading to fatal complications during the first days of the onset of the disease. The number of deaths ranges from 1 to 25% depending on the variant. The Far Eastern type of the disease is accompanied by the maximum number of irreversible consequences and deaths.

In addition to the severe course and unusual forms of the disease, there are complications of tick-borne encephalitis affecting other organs and systems:

pneumonia;
heart failure.

Sometimes a relapsing course of the disease occurs.

Treatment

Tick-borne encephalitis is one of the most serious illnesses; its course is never easy and is almost always accompanied by numerous symptoms. Treatment of tick-borne encephalitis is complicated by the lack of drugs that could affect the pathogen. That is, there are no specific drugs that can kill this virus.

When prescribing treatment, they are guided by the principle of symptom relief. Therefore, medications are mainly prescribed to maintain the body:

apply hormonal drugs or glucocorticosteroids as an anti-shock treatment for tick-borne encephalitis and to combat respiratory failure;
to relieve seizures, magnesium preparations and sedatives are prescribed;
used for detoxification isotonic solution and glucose;
after subsiding acute phase For tick-borne encephalitis, B vitamins and antihistamines are used.

Human immunoglobulin is also used against tick-borne encephalitis. It is obtained from the blood plasma of donors. Timely administration of this medicine contributes to a mild course of the disease and quick recovery.

Immunoglobulin is used according to the following scheme:

prescribe the drug from 3 to 12 ml during the first three days;
in case of severe disease, immunoglobulin is used twice a day with an interval of 12 hours, 6-12 ml, after three days the drug is used only 1 time;
if the body temperature rises again, the medicine is re-prescribed in the same dose.

Disease prevention

Prevention of tick-borne encephalitis can be nonspecific and specific. The first reduces the likelihood of contact with a carrier of infection:

in order to avoid becoming infected with tick-borne encephalitis, you need to reduce the likelihood of ticks being sucked on during walks in nature from April to June, that is, use repellents;
when working outdoors in hotspots of infection, it is recommended to wear closed clothing even in summer and cover exposed areas of the body as much as possible;
after returning from the forest, you must carefully examine the clothes and ask someone close to you to examine the body;
A non-specific measure to prevent tick-borne encephalitis on your own property is mowing tall grass in spring and summer and using chemicals to repel ticks.

What to do if a tick is found on your body after a walk? It is necessary to remove it as soon as possible, this will reduce the likelihood of the pathogen entering the human blood. It is recommended not to throw away the insect, but to take it to the laboratory and analyze it for tick-borne encephalitis. In the hospital or paid laboratory The blood-sucking insect is examined for the presence of the causative agent of the disease. A method is used to infect laboratory animals with a virus isolated from a tick. Even a small fragment is enough to make a diagnosis. They also use more quick way insect research - PCR diagnostics. If the presence of a pathogen in a tick is established, the person is urgently referred for emergency disease prevention.

There are two main ways to protect a person from developing the disease: emergency and planned.

Emergency prevention of tick-borne encephalitis is carried out after contact with a tick. It can be started even before an insect infestation has been established. Immunoglobulin is used in a standard dose - 3 ml for adults, and 1.5 ml intramuscularly for children. The drug is prescribed as a preventive treatment of encephalitis to everyone who has not been vaccinated against infection. 10 days after the first dose, the medicine is re-administered, but in a double dose.
Planned specific prevention tick-borne encephalitis is the use of a vaccine against the pathogen. It is used for everyone living in areas with high morbidity rates. Vaccination can be done by epidemic indications a month before the spring season of tick awakening.

It is planned to vaccinate against tick-borne encephalitis not only residents of infected areas, but also visitors in case of a business trip to a dangerous zone in terms of morbidity.

Today there are two main types of vaccines: tissue inactivated and live, but attenuated. They are used twice with repeated revaccination. But none of the available drugs protects against tick-borne encephalitis for a long time.

Is the tick-borne encephalitis virus dangerous today during the active development of the preventive branch of medicine? More long years the causative agent of the disease will be classified as life-threatening person. There are all the prerequisites for this - a huge number of animal carriers in nature, their distribution over a large territory, the lack of specific treatment for all forms of the disease. From all this, only one correct conclusion follows - it is necessary to carry out timely prevention of tick-borne encephalitis through vaccination.

Tick-borne encephalitis – viral infection, caused by the arbovirus pathogen Flavivirus. It affects the membranes of the brain and spinal cord, which leads to persistent impairment of the neurological and mental functions of the body and can be fatal. The causative agent of the infection is transmitted through the saliva of a tick during a bite directly into the human blood, and through it spreads throughout the body, where it begins to actively progress. The tick itself, as you already understand, is not dangerous, but through bitten wild animals it becomes a carrier of infection for life and, what is most dangerous, transmits the virus to its larvae.

Signs of a bite encephalitis tick It is quite difficult to notice, but the symptoms of encephalitis after a tick bite appear within a few days. In total, tick-borne encephalitis affects 60–70% of residents of forest areas of the CIS countries. And it’s not surprising, because best place The breeding and growth areas for ticks are dense forests, swampy areas, and groves. The most important thing is to recognize the first signs of encephalitis in time and begin treatment immediately after the bite to avoid complications. Treatment involves taking a variety of antiviral drugs and antibiotics.

In the worst case scenario, if the immune system is extremely weakened, the following symptoms will appear:

aching bones;
muscle pain;
stiff neck (difficult or almost impossible to tilt your head forward);
irritability;
unstable emotional state;
nausea and vomiting;
fear of light;
yellow tint to the sclera and whites of the eyes.

Diagnosis of encephalitis

Like any viral disease, tick-borne encephalitis requires careful diagnosis. And since tick-borne encephalitis has similar symptoms to influenza, acute respiratory infections, Lyme disease and other viruses, it is necessary to carry out a whole range of diagnostic procedures:

Data collection: information about the patient’s location over the past days, and even weeks (for example, forest, park, botanical garden, marshy areas) and comparison with the patient’s medical history and examination.
Puncture and analysis of cerebrospinal fluid: puncture of the ridge in the lumbar region and collection of cerebrospinal fluid (fluid in the spinal cord). This test will show whether there is an abscess or bleeding.

Only after a whole range of examinations of the patient can a diagnosis be made.

Development of the disease

As a rule, not everyone immediately notices a small gray ball on their body. This is quite difficult to do, because the favorite places for tick bites are the back and sides of the neck, armpits and areas of skin below, collarbones and even calves. In addition, the encephalitis tick does not show symptoms immediately. Often the bite does not cause much discomfort and only a keen eye can notice a small red spot at the site of the bite. The main signs of infection with tick-borne encephalitis will become visible only five to ten days after the bite. If a person has a weak immune system, symptoms will appear on the second to fourth day after the pathogen enters the blood.

The classic first symptoms of tick-borne encephalitis are similar to those of the flu: chills, high fever, headache, weakness, aches and so on.

At this time, the virus multiplies in the blood. Fever can last up to ten days. Often the fever and other symptoms go away, the person gains immunity against tick-borne encephalitis (this manifests itself in further resistance to the virus) and recovers.

But in rare cases, improvement does not mean recovery at all, but only a state of remission, which lasts about five days. Then the virus penetrates directly into the membranes of the spinal cord and brain - the functions of the nervous system and other organs are disrupted, and the innervation of the organs weakens. Mental disorders, loss of hearing, sense of smell, vision and weakening of other senses are also observed. Violation of muscle function is also noticeable: lethargy, paralysis of the limbs, rigidity. The disorders depend on the form of tick-borne encephalitis.

Forms of the disease

The study of tick-borne encephalitis has led to the identification of several forms of the disease, which manifest themselves depending on the complex of symptoms that are characteristic of them. Each form differs from the other in the time of manifestation, the source of infection and the severity of treatment.

There are the following forms of encephalitis caused by ticks:

febrile;
meningeal;
meningoencephalitis;
polio;
polyradiculoneuritis.

The initial form is considered febrile. It has symptoms characteristic of typical influenza illnesses: chills, heat body, aches and weakness. Then the infection directly affects the membranes of the spinal cord, neurological functions are disrupted, so the following symptoms are added to the signs of the febrile form: nausea and vomiting, throbbing headache that develops into a migraine, severe hyperesthesia, fear of light, stiff neck, pain when pressing on the eyeballs. And you can also observe nystagmus, anisocoria, facial asymmetry, and so on. Probably the development of meningitis.

Under the influence of meningoencephalitic and poliomyelitis forms of infection, the membranes of the brain are damaged and paralysis of the limbs and mental disorders occur. Death is also possible. The meningoencephalitic form is characterized by the following symptoms: mental disorder, hallucinations, paralysis, paresis, epilepsy attack.

Signs of the polio form of tick-borne encephalitis: the same as the meningoencephalitic form, only persistent paralysis of the limbs and neck is also present. Tick-borne encephalitis of the polyradiculioneurotic form has the following symptoms: lethargy and paralysis of the limbs, impaired vision, hearing and other sensory systems, severe pain in the hips and groin.

Encephalitis- inflammation of the brain of various etiologies. The question of this disease usually arises in the summer, when the carrier of tick-borne encephalitis, the tick of the genus Ixodes, multiplies intensively. This genus includes about 650 species, But clinical significance have representatives Ixodes ricinus and Ixodes persulcatus.

Symptoms of an encephalitis tick bite in humans

Ticks become most active in late March. At the site of the bite, some people may experience swelling and a delimited area of inflammation.

Favorite places to stick to mite, must have thin skin and be rich in blood vessels.

Most often the tick attaches itself to the skin on:

folds on the abdomen;
armpits;
popliteal cavities;
lower back;
groin area;
areas behind the ears;
scalp.

Encephalitis manifests itself acutely. After 1-3 weeks, the first signs of the disease appear.

These include:

temperature body rises to 40 degrees;
weakness, brokenness;
strong headache;
absence appetite;
red skin rash;
nausea, vomit;
redness faces and eyes;
tachycardia;
convulsions;
rave, hallucinations;
photophobia;
motor violations;
a loss consciousness or motor and speech overexcitation;
increase regional lymph nodes.

Causes

Often a tick bite goes unnoticed, so a person feels the first signs of the disease. Some individuals may react individually to tick saliva allergic reaction and then the symptoms will appear immediately after the bite.

Symptoms appear clearly and quickly in children, the elderly, and patients with chronic diseases history and various immunodeficiency conditions.

Tick-borne encephalitis is caused by an arbovirus of the genus Flavivirus, which was described by A. G. Panov in 1935.

The virus enters the blood and spreads throughout the body. It is tropic to nervous tissue, therefore it settles in the brain, spinal cord (gray matter), which causes the manifestation of symptoms of central nervous system irritation.

Forms

The following forms of the disease are distinguished:

Meningeal.

Occurs most often. Symptoms of irritation of the meninges predominate. Stiff neck. Fever persists 38-39 degrees, can go in two waves. Lymphocytes are found in the cerebrospinal fluid; the color is cloudy and opalescent. Changes in the cerebrospinal fluid persist for two weeks.

In some cases, meningeal symptoms may absent, changes appear only in the cerebrospinal fluid. Forecast favorable.

Feverish.

The most light form from those presented. The onset is acute with pyretic fever until 39 degrees, weakness, headaches. There are no meningeal symptoms. The pathogen is not detected in the cerebrospinal fluid. The prognosis is favorable.

Characterized by the appearance paresthesia, pain along the nerves and large nerve trunks. Sensitivity disturbances and paralysis appear. Flaccid paralysis can be either ascending or descending.

Meningoencephalitic.

Severe form. Manifested by disturbances of consciousness, delusions, hallucinations. May occur epileptic seizures.

There are two forms:

Diffuse. Epileptic-type seizures and disorders of consciousness are observed. Deep reflexes are asymmetrical and uneven. They manifest themselves in the form of damage to the respiratory centers (tachypnea, bradypnea, pathological breathing), and the vasomotor center.
Focal. Capsular hemiparesis, central monoparesis, myoclonus, epileptic seizures. Lesions of pairs of cranial nerves are characteristic;

Poliomyelitis.

Prevails at first pain syndrome, pain is felt in the muscles of the neck and arms. Begin with fascicular muscle twitching. This symptom can be explained by irritation of the cells of the anterior horns of the spinal cord.

Then it may appear weakness in the limbs. Then, against the background of fever, spastic paresis of the legs and flaccid paresis of the arms, flaccid paresis of the cervical muscles and muscles of the upper limbs appear.

Tick-borne encephalitis of the European subtype

Pathogen - tick Ixodes ricinus or dog tick.

Peculiarities:

low mortality (1-3% according to some data);
relatively mild course of the disease;
more common in the European part of Russia;
characterized by two-wave fever;

Tick-borne encephalitis of the Far Eastern subtype

Calls tick Ixodes persulcatus or taiga tick.

Peculiarities:

severe form;
high mortality (up to 20%);
becomes chronic;
carrier of Lyme disease, borelliosis (in addition to tick-borne encephalitis). More common than the European tick. Read more about.

Prevention and treatment of encephalitis and bites

Treatment

Specific treatment does not exist, Treatment is symptomatic. The diagnosis is confirmed when antibodies to the virus are detected in the patient’s blood.

In the acute period of the disease the following is prescribed:

Prevention

Avoid drinking unpasteurized milk(there have been cases of encephalitis infection through nutritional means);
Wear closed clothing when going into the forest, to the park or when traveling to the country. Jackets with long sleeves, trousers tucked into boots, collars that fit tightly to the throat. Be sure to take a hat with you to prevent the tick from sticking to your scalp.
Upon returning home, be sure to inspect yourself for ticks;
Use special sprays and ointments to repel organisms;
Inspect pets who could carry a tick on themselves;
If a tick is found, it must be removed as quickly as possible. The likelihood that it will be infected is small, but once again it doesn’t hurt to be careful.

The tick can be pulled out using swinging movements and under no circumstances should you crush it! Disinfect the wound with chlorhexidine, iodine or other disinfectant solution. The detected tick must be preserved and taken for analysis to an infectious diseases laboratory, if there is one in your locality.

In the first three days after the bite You can go to a medical center, where (if available) they can administer anti-encephalitis immunoglobulin. Remantadine also has an antiviral effect. But such emergency prevention does not provide a complete guarantee that the patient will not get encephalitis;
Get vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis. Currently, effective and high-quality vaccines against tick-borne encephalitis have been invented.

The vaccination is done in three stages:

first;
the second after 1 (3) month;
then after 9 (12) months the third.

There is a scheme according to which the second vaccination is given two weeks after the first. The third is the same as in the previous diagram. This circuit is emergency

Vaccination will create immunity that will last for 3 years. Then you will have to revaccinate (if the person lives in an area where encephalitis is endemic).

Complications

The most common complications:

long-term headache;
violations sleep;
violations hearing, vision, speech;
weakening memory;
affective disorders;
changes consciousness;
mental backwardness;
paralysis;
paresis;
hallucinations;
stop cardiac and respiratory activity;
incontinence urine;
incontinence feces

As you can see, encephalitis can cause many complications, lead to patient disability and even death. To avoid complications, when a tick is discovered, a person should consult a doctor for help as soon as possible.

19.09.2016

This pathology is a focal infection that negatively affects the central nervous system and causes paralysis of the limbs and other dangerous diseases. Signs of encephalitis discovered during a tick bite will help to begin treatment as soon as possible, which will prevent the development of pathological processes.

Signs of tick-borne encephalitis in humans

Externally, the pathology does not express itself in any way, so you should not look for symptoms in the appearance of the bite, manifestations of itching or other sensations. The disease often manifests itself psychological complex symptoms.

The incubation period lasts from eight to twenty days. Already one day after infection, the first signs of tick-borne encephalitis may appear. The infection process can take different durations. It all depends on what type of virus damaged the body. Nowadays, there are frequent cases of rapid development of the disease, in which the patient falls into a coma and dies due to paralysis of the respiratory system.

On initial stages the disease is accompanied by the following symptoms:

heat;
muscle weakness;
body aches;
photophobia;
vomit;
excessive sweating;
loss of appetite;
nausea;
Strong headache.

In the case of a bite to the head, the incubation period is halved. If treatment is not started in a timely manner, the intensity of the disease will increase.

Manifestation of encephalitis after a tick bite

There are several types of encephalitis, which are distinguished by characteristic symptoms, manifested in humans.

Feverish form

Is the easiest. Its main manifestations:

malaise of the whole body;
fever (for five days);
feeling overwhelmed;
loss of appetite.

In the future, complications of this form of the disease are not observed.

Meningeal form

In addition to the syndrome, it is also accompanied by meningal symptoms. Patients experience:

disturbance of consciousness;
severe vomiting;
deterioration of reflex activity.

Analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid reveals leukocytosis containing pleocytes. The consequence of the disease is periodic headaches.

Poliomyelitis and radiculitis forms

In radiculitis and poliomyelitis forms, which manifest themselves almost identically, they are accompanied by damage to the muscles of the chest and neck. The most obvious symptoms are:

joint pain;
paralysis and paresthesia of small muscle fibers.

The consequence of this form is often muscle atrophy and deterioration in motor activity of the damaged areas.

Encephalitic form

It is the most severe form of the disease, during which the membranes of the brain are affected. Signs of tick-borne encephalitis develop very quickly. These include:

paralysis of legs and arms;
coma;
hallucinations;
confusion;
disorientation;
slowness of movements;
Vomiting like a fountain.

Signs of the consequences of an encephalitis tick bite

Some complications, formed during the disease, can remind themselves throughout life. Improper removal causes injury to the skin and subcutaneous tissue. This can result in suppuration, infection and abscess. Signs of this condition are:

Tick-borne encephalitis is a virus that affects the human nervous system. The virus is transmitted by ordinary ticks. Since they are moisture-loving insects, they are most often found in forests, areas with tall grass, and also in swampy areas. It is in these places that there is a high risk of contracting encephalitis.

The encephalitis tick is not a special “breed”, but a very common individual infected with the encephalitis virus

Causes of tick-borne encephalitis

There are more than 30,000 species of ticks in the world, of which 5,000 are encephalitic. It is worth noting that special type The encephalitis tick does not exist. There are ticks infected with encephalitis. In this case, the virus can be contained both in the body of females and males, and in larvae and nymphs. A tick becomes infected when it sucks blood from an infected animal. However, the virus does not affect the insect’s body in any way.

People whose work activities involve visiting swampy areas and deciduous forests are especially susceptible to contracting encephalitis. However, if you live far from these places and do not go there, this does not mean that you are protected from the bite of an infected tick. It can be brought by both pets on their fur, and your neighbors or guests who have been in a high-risk area.

The tick has a unique small body with several pairs of legs, with which it clings to people's clothing and animal fur: in this way it moves from one place to another.

You can become infected with encephalitis not only when bitten by a tick, but also through drinking raw milk from an infected animal. And also as a result of crushing a spotted insect in an open area of the body, resulting in its small particles being rubbed into the skin, which leads to infection.

After you are bitten by an infected tick, the virus spreads throughout your body, blood vessels it enters the brain and spinal cord, resulting in damage to the nervous system.

Symptoms of tick-borne encephalitis are initially similar to regular flu, but then atrophy of the muscles of the neck and shoulders begins to appear.

Symptoms

Symptoms of encephalitis on initial stages diseases are very difficult to identify. The incubation period can last from 2 to 21 days. Moreover, at the end of this time period it is bright severe symptoms may not be observed at all, and the presence of the disease can only be detected through testing.

But for most people, symptoms appear within 7–10 days after being bitten by an encephalitis tick. As a rule, initially they are similar to ordinary flu: fever up to 38 ° C, chills, muscle pain, headache, dizziness, loss of appetite, vomiting and nausea.

Symptoms of encephalitis also include paralysis of the neck muscles and shoulder girdle. As a rule, this happens 9–14 days after a person is bitten by a tick. First, the heaviness of the head is felt and it hangs towards the chest, then it occurs a sharp decline muscle tone of the limbs, and then muscle atrophy develops.

The disease can also cause epileptiform seizures, which may be accompanied by loss of consciousness. The patient may also experience psychological disturbances in the form of confusion and hallucinations.

The disease can occur in both mild and severe forms. After complete cure The body develops a strong immune system that prevents the development of repeated illness.

If you have removed a tick yourself, do not rush to get rid of it: you need to place it in a closed container and take it to a medical facility to be tested for encephalitis.

Forms of tick-borne encephalitis

There are several forms of tick-borne encephalitis:

febrile;
meningoencephalitic;
polio;
meningeal

Feverish form

This form of the disease is the most favorable, since after a person is bitten by an encephalitis tick, the central nervous system not affected. Symptoms of febrile tick-borne encephalitis are as follows:

temperature increase;
headache;
weakness and aches;
decreased appetite;
nausea.

Meningeal form

After an encephalitis tick bite in a person, in this form of the disease the central nervous system is partially affected. The mucous membrane of the brain is irritated, resulting in the following symptoms:

fear of light appears;
stiffening of the neck muscles;
severe, sometimes unbearable, headache;
temperature increase;
vomit.

Meningoencephalitic form

Brain cells are affected, which lead to various complications and even death. This form is characterized by psychological disorders, convulsions and paralysis, as well as loss or clouding of consciousness, hallucinations.

Poliomyelitis form

This form of the disease is very dangerous. After all, to all the above symptoms are added defeat cervical spine spinal cord, resulting in paralysis of the arms and neck. After a person has suffered from an illness, best case scenario he may remain disabled, or in the worst case, die.

If you find a tick attached to your body, under no circumstances should you pull it out with your bare fingers or try to squeeze it out like a regular pimple. It needs to be lubricated vegetable oil and after 20 minutes remove it using tweezers. In this case, your movements should be smooth and circular. After you remove the tick from the body, place it in a jar and treat the bite site with iodine or brilliant green.

But before treating, carefully inspect the bite site. If you have not removed the tick completely, you should take a regular needle, disinfect it and remove part of the insect’s body, like an ordinary splinter.

The jar in which you placed the tick must be taken to any medical institution, where it will be examined and the presence of the virus in it will be confirmed or denied. Also, after a tick bite, pay close attention to your well-being and condition. skin. If you have a fever or a skin rash within a month, be sure to consult a doctor.