Tick-borne encephalitis: what are the symptoms and how to protect yourself?
what are the symptoms and how to protect yourself?
In the health department, 26 cases of "probable" tick-borne encephalitis have been identified. Symptoms and prevention: an update on this tick-borne disease.
Photo Steshka Willems in Pexels
On Thursday 28 May 2020, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regional Health Agency (ARS) sounded the alarm.
An outbreak of tick-borne encephalitis has been identified in the department with 10 "confirmed" cases and 24 hospitalizations during the month of May. One death is deplorable in a person with significant comorbidities.
What is tick-borne encephalitis?
Tick-borne encephalitis is a viral disease caused by a Flavivirus, which is transmitted to humans through the bite of a contaminated tick (often Ixodes ricinus).
Exceptionally, the pathology can be transmitted through the consumption of food from animals contaminated by the virus: raw milk, goat's cheese or raw sheep's cheese...
Although extremely rare, this mode of transmission is the hypothesis favored by health authorities, who believe that the origin of the disease is a farm in the Oyonnax region.
In fact, it is said that 50% of the sick have consumed raw milk cheeses (goat's and cow's milk) from this farm.
What are the symptoms of tick-borne encephalitis?
The incubation time of the disease (that is, the time between infection with the virus and the appearance of the first symptoms) is approximately 1 to 2 weeks.
Afterwards, the disease manifests itself through a fever higher than 37.5°C, headaches (headache) and muscle and/or joint pain.
In 20 or 30% of patients, neurological symptoms linked to an attack on the nervous system are also observed: tremors, behavioral problems (agitation or prostration), paralysis of a limb, dizziness, etc.
Rarely fatal (in less than 1% of cases), tick-borne encephalitis is responsible for sequelae in about 40% of cases: behavioral disorders, paralysis, etc.
In the department of Ain, from May 27, 2020, 22 patients "with a favorable evolution" were able to return home. Two other patients remain hospitalized but their health status "no longer inspires concern," according to the ARS.
How can I protect myself from tick-borne encephalitis?
In France, tick-borne encephalitis is most common in the Alps and Alsace, between spring and autumn.
To protect yourself from it, it is recommended that you wear long, covered clothes when you go out to the park, the forest, the countryside...
Doctors also advise not to sit in the tall grass and, above all, to inspect yourself carefully every time you return from a walk, not forgetting your scalp, between your fingers and toes and the back of your knees.
You can also find insect repellent products in pharmacies, ask your pharmacist for advice!
You may be interested:
If you want to know other articles similar to Tick-borne encephalitis: what are the symptoms and how to protect yourself? you can visit the category Health.
You may be interested in: