Where do encephalitis mites come from? Where did ticks come from in Russia and where are they found? Where did ticks come from on earth

The appearance of encephalitic ticks has been worrying people in different parts of Russia and other countries for decades. The reason is clear - insects spread a dangerous disease, encephalitis, which often causes serious complications or even leads to death. Where did encephalitis ticks come from in Russia and where do they live? Were they introduced by chance or have they always inhabited forests and meadows? Where do these dangerous insects live? We will try to answer all these questions.

Where did ticks come from in Russia?

So, as such, encephalitis mites do not exist at all. We are talking about ordinary ixodid ticks, which, among other things, can carry the virus of a dangerous disease, encephalitis. Therefore, the name "encephalitic" is folk, not scientific.

Encephalitic mites have always lived on the territory of Russia. In the process of evolution, they have changed, however, as a species existed both before and now. Even before the war, people in the villages also got sick after being bitten by ticks, however, then no one thought about the relationship.

For the first time, the problem of encephalitic mites was paid attention after in 1937–1938. in the military units located in the Far East, soldiers began to fall ill en masse. Doctors performed tests and found out that the reason was the bites of ticks that spread the encephalitis virus.

As it turns out, climate also plays a role in the spread of ticks. Social factors also influence the distribution of these insects. A few decades ago, people began to actively organize household plots near cities, as a result of which these dangerous insects moved to cities and suburbs, where they are increasingly found.

Warming also affects the habitat of ticks. Harmful insects move north. The taiga tick, which is widespread in Yekaterinburg and its suburbs, migrates to the west, displacing the European forest tick that lives here.

Both taiga and European ticks live in Moscow, Moscow and Leningrad regions. Outwardly, they are very similar, get along well in the same territory, tolerate encephalitis and borreliosis.

Tick ​​habitats

Ixodid ticks carrying encephalitis live throughout the country in forest and park areas. It is possible to determine whether an insect is infected or not only by the result of the analysis. Outwardly, an infected tick is no different from a healthy one.

To survive, they need high humidity (from 80%), because of this, insects settle where plants retain moisture well in the soil.

Some animals must live on the territory, because. insects need to feed on their blood. Ideal places where encephalitic ticks are found are forest edges with spacious clearings, nearby meadows, an abundance of deciduous trees, river banks, etc. It is not uncommon to find an ixodid tick on sunny slopes overgrown with shrubs. In forests littered with windbreak, you can also meet these dangerous insects - there is a microclimate they need here. But in dry pine forests without grass, ticks practically do not live.

Also, areas of encephalitis ticks are often located in cities: parks, squares, courtyards of residential buildings - theoretically, they may well live here. Basically, they are concentrated along paths and paths.

As you can see, it is almost impossible to completely exclude the possibility of being bitten by an encephalitis tick. areas where ticks live are everywhere. However, it is in our power to conduct a regular inspection of clothes after walking through the forest or parks, and if a tick is found on the body, immediately contact the nearest emergency room or clinic.

Eyelash mite: symptoms and treatment with drugs and folk remedies.

Fear of light, redness, irritability of the eyes for any reason, intolerance to cosmetics, eyelashes stuck together after a night, itching ... All this can be a sign of various problems with the eyes. But the culprit is also an eyelash mite. The symptoms of the lesion and its treatment should be known to everyone who does not want to suffer patiently and lose eyelashes one after another.

Demodectic mite is a conditionally pathogenic microorganism, a tiny (0.2-0.5 mm) insect that can live on the forehead, nasolabial folds, eyebrows, and chin. But his favorite place is eyelashes. It is not so much the tick itself that harms, but the products of its vital activity.

More than others, those who suffer from metabolic disorders, weak immunity, chronic gastrointestinal ailments, diseases of the endocrine system, hepatitis, as well as the elderly are at risk of getting acquainted with this insect. Along with eyelashes, other places on the body often suffer, however, not all doctors connect these phenomena with each other, because of this, prescribing not entirely correct therapy. What are the symptoms of the eyelash mite and what treatment will help to cope with it?

How to recognize the presence of an eyelash enemy?

The symptoms of damage are:

• eyes get tired very quickly, not adequately loaded;
• the skin of the edges of the eyelids may turn red, inflamed, and in some cases swell;
• eyes are very itchy, redden;
• barley often pops up;
• after sleep, the eyelids are swollen, yellow dry crusts, scales or sticky discharge are visible between the eyelashes.

Non-eye symptoms may include:

• red patches, spots on the skin of the face;
• pimples, acne.

With the progression of the problem, eyelashes begin to actively fall out. It is aggravated by the fact that patients often try to remove dried crusts without soaking them.

Ciliary demodicosis is often accompanied by conjunctivitis. It often happens that these two lesions are confused with each other. However, if conjunctivitis resolves relatively quickly after a course of treatment, then it will not be possible to deal with demodicosis so quickly. Often it takes a chronic course with autumn and spring exacerbations.

It is enough for an experienced doctor to look at the patient's eyes to suspect a lesion with an eyelash mite. To confirm or refute the diagnosis, two simple and quick analyzes are made - an eyelash test and a demodex scraping. Several eyelashes are taken from both eyelids and the skin cells remaining on them are examined.

How to treat eyelash mites?

If there is a suspicion of ciliary demodicosis, you need to pay a visit to the ophthalmologist and dermatologist, pass the tests that they will prescribe. In getting rid of this problem, complexity and patience are very important. Treatment is carried out in several directions at once: drugs, traditional medicine, diet correction and enhanced hygiene.

For salvation - to the pharmacy

• For treatment, drugs are used not only externally, but also inside, in particular, Metronidazole tablets (drink in accordance with the instructions).
• Streptocid will also help from the tablets, but it is used topically: they are thoroughly rubbed, after which the skin areas affected by the tick are treated once a day.
• He does not like this insect Trichopolum very much. The tablet is crushed into powder, combined with a small amount of heated castor oil. Among other things, this will help young cilia grow faster.
• Special ointments and gels will come to the rescue, in particular, the “multifunctional” Demodex. Ointments with tar and sulfur have proven themselves well. Before applying them, it is recommended to dip a cotton swab into calendula tincture (on alcohol) and gently clean the skin of the eyelids and cilia with it.

Do not try to apply a massive blow to the tick with all drugs at once: this can only aggravate the situation. It is better to give the doctor the right to choose the optimal treatment regimen.

Eyelash mite: treatment with folk remedies

It will be faster to free your eyes from an unwanted guest if you additionally use alternative medicine:

• chamomile, wormwood, celandine - a combined decoction for washing the eyes. 1 tsp. each plant is placed in 1 liter of boiling water, boiled for several minutes, allowed to cool;
• calendula (flowers), tansy, tea leaves (optional) - infusion for washing eyes and lotions. In 1 st. pour boiling water 2 tbsp. l. raw materials, cover for 2 hours, cool, filter;
• chamomile, eucalyptus - a combined infusion for washing the eyes. In 1 st. boiling water put 1 tbsp. l. each plant, cover, let stand for 2 hours;
• linden heart-shaped - a decoction for wiping the affected areas. 2 tbsp. l. raw materials are poured with boiling water (1 tbsp.), They are kept in a water bath for about 10 minutes, the skin is treated in the mornings and evenings;
• oak bark, linden - a combined decoction for compresses for inflammation and swelling of the eyelids. In 1 st. pour boiling water in 1 tsp. one and the other raw materials are not removed from the stove for about 3 more minutes (the fire should be small). Lotions are made in the morning, kept for 15-20 minutes;
• oak bark - a decoction for compresses with redness and swelling of the eyelids. Connect 1 tbsp. water and 1 tsp. bark, boil and, without turning off the burner, keep on the stove for another 5 minutes.

What needs to be changed in your life?

It should be strengthened on all fronts: frequent washing of hands and face, disinfection of glasses, high-quality washing of things (necessarily with ironing).

It should be aimed at strengthening the protective forces: rich in vitamins, "live" energy of plant foods. It is recommended to use more "milk", spare the gastrointestinal tract (do not regale it with spicy, very salty, etc. dishes), avoid sugar (a breeding ground for ticks) and foods that are known as strong allergens (for example, citrus fruits).

Everything that dilates blood vessels (for example, a bath) helps to activate the tick. Calmness is necessary, because stress destroys the immune system.

If you have problems with your eyes, do not rush to write them off as stress, conjunctivitis or allergies. Perhaps an uninvited "tenant" has settled on your eyelashes, the fight against which will not be quick and requires self-discipline. But in any case, you should not worry too much, since getting rid of the eyelash mite is difficult, but possible. Most of the funds are used topically, so the treatment will not create a serious burden on the body.

How to recognize an eyelash mite.

Are your eyes itchy and tired? Eyelashes fall out, and white crusts are noticeable in the place of their growth? Probably a person has an eyelash mite:

Until, one day, the carrier's body weakens, and the waste products of the tick cause severe allergies. Then the person will run to the doctors, where they will point out the disease to him.

A disease that is curable requires a scrupulous attitude towards itself.

Symptoms of demodicosis of the eyes and eyelids

Recognizing the appearance of demodicosis of the eyelids is not difficult. The following symptoms appear:

• eyelids and eyelashes are very itchy;
• white crusts appear in this area, which regularly exfoliate;
• there are constant redness, tearing of the eyes;
• eyelashes now and then fall out in large bunches;
• noticeable purulent discharge;
• an unpleasant odor emanates from the eyes.

These are the main signs of tick-borne disease on the eyelashes. Only a doctor can make an accurate diagnosis. In order not to worsen the situation, contact an ophthalmologist. Only he will conduct the required studies, take tissue samples for analysis and issue his conclusion.

Insects themselves are very small, it is virtually impossible to calculate them "by eye". If your eyes itch and eyelashes fall out, you should not waste time - you need an urgent consultation with an ophthalmologist.

Treatment after eyelash mites

Demodicosis is considered a curable disease. The facial tick is in no hurry to leave its usual place, so getting rid of it will be long and somewhat “tedious”, regularity and scrupulousness are needed.

It is not the tick itself that is terrible, but its secretions. The waste product causes allergic reactions: the very redness of the eyelids, inflammation of the eyes and hair loss.

The attending physician will tell you in detail about the treatment, many prescribed drugs are sold in pharmacies without prescriptions. But this does not mean that self-treatment in this case is possible.

Uncontrolled intake and application of drugs often lead to weakening and even partial loss of vision. Sometimes ordinary people confuse demodicosis with ordinary conjunctivitis or the ingestion of a foreign microscopic object inside the eye.

Treatment and disposal of the tick includes a symbiosis of various measures. The patient is prescribed tablets, ointments and creams, it is allowed to use folk remedies, but not instead of medications, but only with them.

Medication treatment

If a doctor detects demodex on eyelashes, the doctor prescribes:

• antibiotics;
• antimicrobial ointments;
• antihistamines.

If a person works in a hazardous or hazardous industry, as well as if his work is associated with the transportation of people, then it is recommended to issue a temporary disability certificate (sick leave) for the duration of treatment.

Folk methods for eyelash mites

With folk remedies, the treatment of demodicosis should be approached very carefully: do not overdo it and do not replace the main treatment.

How to get rid of the disease as soon as possible will help:

decoction of oak bark - they wipe their eyelids up to 3 times a day. Every 24 hours you need to prepare a new one, this is a prerequisite, the liquid deteriorates quickly;

aloe juice - it is squeezed out and applied to the eyelids, held for 10-15 minutes and removed. So 2-3 times a day;

the tick does not like tomatoes - the juice is squeezed out of them, dipped in cotton wool and put on the eyelids, like lotions for half an hour 3 times a day;

chamomile tincture relieves itching and irritation - dry flowers are poured with boiling water, infused for 3 hours and lotions are made.

More than 50 years ago, optometrists developed a full-fledged prevention of demodicosis, which is still relevant today. It includes the following items:

• you must use your own personal hygiene items - towels, scarves, do not use strangers in any case;
• do not neglect the means for treatment prescribed by the doctor;
• do not use other people's brushes for applying cosmetics in the eyelid area;
• regularly carry out hygiene of the eyelids;
• be sure to wash your face with clean cool water once a day;
• do not remove the drug prescribed by the doctor on your own;
• bring the course of therapy to its logical conclusion;
• if there is close contact with a suspected sick person, treat the skin of the face with an antimicrobial agent for 10 minutes.

Contraindications

Most often, people with a weakened immune system become objects of eyelash mites.

Some drugs prescribed by a doctor are contraindicated for pregnant women and nursing mothers, babies and the elderly. In each case, a doctor's consultation is necessary.

Conclusion

Eyelash mite treatment with folk remedies.

Ultimately, in certain cases, the appearance of an abscess in the eyes and a whitish coating on the eyelashes is not a consequence of a disease like infectious conjunctivitis, but a symptom of a more significant nuisance. For example, the presence of an eyelash mite, the rescue from which stretches for a rather long time.

So now the topic of our conversation is mites on the eyelashes, where and why they appear, their symptoms, how to treat and prevent.

Demodex mite on eyelashes, who is it and where did it come from?

So where do eyelash mites come from and what do they pretend to be? Demodex or acne gland is a microscopic small beetle with six legs. It is no more than half a millimeter in size, and the habitat is located deep in the sebaceous glands and hair follicles of humans and animals.

Most of all, the tick loves the face area: cheeks, eyebrows, eyelashes, beard, forehead, folds of the nose and lips, of course, the external auditory meatus. The tick itself is not so terrible, but the products of its vital activity are important toxins for our body. At a time when human immunity is stable and the skin has a normal level of fat content, the tick does not show itself.

We also do not know that he lives somewhere. But when immunity weakens due to a severe cold or hormonal failure, or an increase in oily skin, the tick is right there, manifesting itself in the form of a rash of acne on the face and on the eyelashes with something like blepharitis or conjunctivitis. Quite often, these symptoms are also accompanied by increased oily hair and dandruff (seborrhea).

Eyelash mite symptoms and diagnosis

Recognizing the eyelash mite in principle will be very simple, since it manifests itself with certain symptoms.

1. The infected person begins to lose sight, his eyes get tired and itch.
2. In places where the cilia grow along the edge of the eyelid, a distinct redness forms. Eyelashes begin to stick together, small plates in the form of a clutch appear at their base, and from time to time they fall out.
3. Ciliary demodicosis is a chronic disease, and has periods of exacerbation - in spring and autumn.

This is what is the main difference between this disease and simple conjunctivitis, which can be cured without a trace through the right treatment. The presence of a tick or its absence can be found out by passing a painless and easy analysis. A sample of cilia is taken from each eyelid and examined under a microscope in a laboratory. If there is a presence of a tick, it will be immediately seen by movement.

Treatment and prevention

It is worth noting that the eyelash mite is very contagious, and in order to prevent secondary self-infection and infection of other people, certain preventive actions will be required.

1. During washing, use only personal antibacterial soap and disposable wipes for wiping.
2. Systematically twice a day (morning and evening) iron pillowcases and towels at high temperatures.
3. Invariably disinfect things that have bright contact with the face. This is a hat, scarf, scarf, curlers, comb, etc. For the period of treatment, you need to abandon the use of cosmetics and try not to have face-to-face contact.

Treatment of an eyelash mite with folk remedies

Traditional medicine recommends tinctures for alcohol from chamomile, calendula, and tansy in the treatment of eyelash mites, which give an anti-inflammatory effect. They lubricate the eyelids and eyelashes at the base. Lubricate with a cotton swab very carefully so that alcohol does not get into the eyes. To wash the eyes and eyelashes, tea leaves and a decoction of tansy are also used. But all these manipulations are only of a preventive and auxiliary nature, and without a full-fledged complex treatment they are not effective.

That's basically all you need to know and not forget about the eyelash mite and its treatment. But if it is good and true to monitor your body condition, performing the necessary personal hygiene measures, then this knowledge will remain only additional information for reflection.

They appeared on Earth many tens of millions of years ago, being contemporaries of giant reptiles, and have changed little since then. With a high degree of probability, already then in the Akari subclass there were species that fed on the blood of a dinosaur. This may be an indirect confirmation of the warm-blooded pangolins. The continents at that time were still a single whole, which allowed the ancestors of modern ticks to spread throughout the planet. In the process of evolution, on already separate continents, new types of ticks arose from the original ones, forming a phylogenetic tree. Therefore, the question of where ticks came from in Russia is unjustified. They existed on this territory long before the emergence of states and even Homo sapiens. But the legality of the presence of ticks on Russian territory is of little concern to people, since the main concern of mankind today is the fight against diseases carried by these arthropods. So finding out the origin of ticks that carry encephalitis is much more relevant than their evolutionary history.

The history of the appearance of the encephalitis tick

There is an opinion that until the mid-30s of the last century, there was no such thing on the territory of Russia and the Far East. And only after these years, the encephalitic tick spread throughout Eurasia. There are two theories that answer the question of where encephalitis mites came from.

conspiracy

It's all the Japanese' fault. In the 1930s, outbreaks of an unknown disease were seen in the Far East. The epidemic raged among the Far Eastern grouping of the Red Army.

The disease was first described in 1935 by A. G. Panov. In 1937, an expedition was sent there to find out the source of the infection. The leader of the expedition was Professor L.A. Silbert. The work of the expedition was successful and the vector was found. It turned out to be ixodid.

Since 1935, a laboratory for the production and testing of biological weapons operated on the territory of Manchuria, which was under the jurisdiction of Detachment 731. After the USSR entered the war with Japan, the work was curtailed, and the laboratory was destroyed. It was not possible to completely cover up the traces, after the surrender of Japan it turned out that the laboratory worked with various viruses, using various objects as carriers. From rats to mosquitoes.

On a note!

The Japanese also worked with encephalitis. But the strain of the virus was one that. The Japanese got it from mosquitoes. In the 1920s, an outbreak of mosquito encephalitis occurred in Japan, resulting in several thousand deaths. Mosquito encephalitis is a relative of tick-borne, but the strains are still different.

After returning to Moscow, the leader of the expedition to the Far East was arrested. The charge was brought against a Japanese saboteur who brought tick-borne encephalitis to Russia.

inconsistencies

The Japanese worked with mosquito encephalitis, which is different from tick-borne encephalitis. Travelers to the Far East back in the 1920s (10 years earlier) pointed out that the local population was afraid of ticks. Indigenous peoples are more resistant to tick-borne encephalitis.

On a note!

The wild fauna is the carrier of the virus, but does not get sick itself. This indicates that the virus appeared in the taiga long before humans arrived there.

Encephalitis is a very unreliable biological weapon:

• it causes only 20-30% of cases;
• even in the virus, only 20% of ticks are infected, in safe ones even less;
• the virus is not transmitted directly from person to person;
• it is impossible to force an attack on a person.

It is easier to use plague-infected rats and fleas instead of ticks. It was these vectors that the Japanese actually used.

Whoever came up with ticks specially infected with encephalitis pursued other goals: to remove a competitor. Regarding the alleged absence of encephalitis on the territory of Russia until the 1930s, one can do without conspiracy theory.

Before the Great October Revolution, the tsarist government was not particularly interested in the state of affairs in the Far East. This region was a place of honorable exile. Sometimes not honorary, but just links. With a high degree of probability, people suffered from encephalitis. But since at the first stage of development this disease is very similar to the flu or a cold, it was diagnosed that way, without being able to do blood tests.

Interesting!

Encephalitis at that time "passed" in medical diagnoses as "toxic flu".

After the first stage of the disease, remission occurs (the person recovers), and the second stage occurs only in a third of patients. And few of the sick remembered the tick that had bitten him a month ago.

Only when the "flu" began to mow down the military units, that is, organizations where there are a lot of people and everything is in sight, the leadership and doctors suspected that the cause of the epidemic was not in the usual infectious diseases and began to look for the source of the disease.

Modern genetic

The development of science and genetic research has allowed scientists to trace the origin and distribution of various animal species. But with ticks and encephalitis, things only got more complicated.

The most popular version of the spread of encephalitis today claims that the disease has always existed in the Far East. In the villages they were ill with it, but they did not understand what it was. With the beginning of the active development of the eastern part of Russia, cases of the disease became more frequent, and encephalitis began to spread to the West. The first case of the disease in Europe was recorded only in 1948 in the Czech Republic.

But in 2012, at an international conference in Irkutsk, Novosibirsk scientists expressed the opposite point of view. In their opinion, based on the analysis of a fragment of the nucleotide sequence, encephalitis spread from west to east.

There is also a compromise point of view, the authors of which, based on the analysis of genome-wide TBEV sequences from GenBank, consider Siberia to be the place of occurrence of encephalitis. The spread of the disease, in their opinion, went in parallel in both directions.

On a note!

The time of occurrence of the virus according to these hypotheses also varies greatly: from 2.25 to 5-7 thousand years. The Japanese obviously have nothing to do with it.

Considering the resistance of the wild fauna to the virus and the rather narrow band of the spread of the virus, despite the fact that they themselves do not live in ice, we can conclude that the spread of the virus to the north and south is restrained by some kind of natural factor. In the case of artificially created biological weapons, such factors do not work.

Even the expeditions of the late 30s identified 29 strains of the virus that exist in the wild. For biological weapons, such diversity is also uncharacteristic.

Therefore, the hypothesis of the independent occurrence of encephalitis in the forests of Eurasia looks more consistent. And where, where the virus actually spread, is interesting only to scientists. Ordinary citizens are much more concerned today with the question of where ticks come from in such huge quantities.

How are things today with encephalitis

If you stick to conspiracy theories, then it's much easier to see a conspiracy in today's explosion in the number of ticks. Even in the area of ​​encephalitis 40 years ago, precautionary measures were taken more for the sake of reinsurance. It was difficult to "find" a tick in the forest. Today, 1 sq. km, researchers shoot 40 pcs. arthropods. And ordinary citizens complain that after each walk with the dog, they take off at least 5 of these arachnids from it and from themselves.

Where there is no encephalitis, it rages. And the number of ticks infected with this disease significantly exceeds the number of encephalitic ones.

On a note!

Such an outbreak occurred due to the ban on DDT and the complete cessation of the treatment of forest areas with insecticides. Insecticides harmed nature, destroying all insects, but they kept ticks away. Today, the arthropod population is multiplying uncontrollably, and encephalitis is slowly creeping into new regions of the country.

If the treatment of forests with pesticides is not restored, then all hope remains only for those very natural factors that restrained the spread of encephalitis before the invention of insecticides.

Biology of ixodid

Ixodid ticks (pasture or forest) are small arachnids that spend part of their lives on the body of the host, feed on the blood of humans and animals. Ticks have a small head, eight legs, a small body, a sharp harpoon-shaped proboscis for sucking blood. They navigate with the help of the organs of touch and smell, they are able to feel a warm-blooded organism at a distance of up to 10 meters.

The most voracious individual is female, because for the development of eggs she needs nutrients. Having sucked blood, the female increases a hundred times, becomes like a shiny large droplet. But be careful - an awkward movement, and the abdomen can burst, and its contents can splash into the eyes or a wound on the body. Males are not so bloodthirsty - after all, they do not need to take care of their offspring, they just need to eat and fertilize the female.

From an epidemiological point of view, female ticks will be the most dangerous. Suspended for several days, they, together with saliva, inject a large number of viral particles into human blood.

Why are ixodid ticks dangerous to humans?

Scary stories about ticks have a real basis - you can get infected with such a terrible disease as encephalitis. How can a person become infected? It is enough to take a walk in nature, pick up a tick, the bloodthirsty creature will find a secluded place, stick its head almost completely into the skin and drink and suck for ten to twelve days, if a person does not notice it earlier, or accidentally catches it, breaking off the bloody belly. But the deed has already been done - the tick bite has launched the mechanism of infection transmission.

True, not every close encounter with a tick can cause encephalitis, it is necessary that the animal has this insidious active virus in its saliva. The number of bites from an encephalitic animal increases the risk of developing the disease, although sometimes one bite is sufficient. Vaccination carried out on time, a sufficient level of antibodies is a guarantee that the disease will not develop. How ticks get infected, where the virus came from, the transmission mechanism is studied by the science of epidemiology.

How ticks get infected

The source of infection is mouse-like rodents (shrews, voles, shrews), moles, hares and other small animals. Epidemiologists have counted more than 200 animals that are natural reservoirs of the encephalitis virus. The natural foci of tick-borne encephalitis are the taiga regions of the Far East, the forest zone of Russia from Kaliningrad to Sakhalin.

The disease is characterized by a spring-summer periodicity, with an increase in the activity of ticks, the number of infected increases. Ticks become infected by feeding on the blood of these animals, often change 3–4 hosts, and have a complex life cycle:

1. Fertile females lay a huge number of eggs, from which larvae develop.
2. The larvae live on small animals, birds, sometimes on large insects; before the onset of the next phase of development, they fall to the ground, turning into a nymph.
3. A nymph is an immature tick that lives on large animals and humans; when satiated, the nymph molts and also falls to the ground.
4. After a while, an adult crawls onto the blades of grass, sits with its paws apart, and waits for its “prey” - the owner.

Diagram of the life cycle of a tick

Adult individuals live 3–4 months, die by autumn, only immature females hibernate.

How does a person become infected?

The prey of a tick can be not only a large animal, but also a person. The activity of ticks begins to appear in early spring, so in April it is possible to meet with these creatures. The peak of activity falls in May (you need to be careful when going on May picnics) and lasts almost until the end of June. With the onset of dry and hot days, activity decreases.

The second August peak is typical for the European part of Russia. In the Urals, Siberia and the Far East, there is only one spring-summer peak. Tick-borne encephalitis has two sources of virus vector to humans:

• taiga tick (found in the taiga forests of Siberia and the Far East);
• canine (range - the European part of Russia, Central and Northern Europe).

With saliva, substances that prevent blood clotting enter the wound, so animals can drink a lot of it. Painkillers are also injected into the wound, the bite is painless, a person does not always notice small monsters that have stuck to his skin. After the animals have drunk, they stretch their proboscis, fall to the ground.

By the appearance of the tick, it is impossible to determine whether it is infected. You can determine in the laboratory by making a test.

Etiology

The etiology (causes), ways of infection and transmission of tick-borne encephalitis have been studied quite well. The causative agent of infection multiplies in the cells of mammals, birds and arthropods. It does not live long in the external environment, it is quickly destroyed by boiling, the action of disinfectants. Tick-borne encephalitis is characterized by natural foci - the disease occurs only where ixodid ticks live.

Infection with encephalitis occurs when eating raw milk, other dairy products obtained from sick animals. Ways of infection - transmissible (through blood when bitten), alimentary. The gate of infection is the skin, the epithelium of the digestive tract. The virus moves through the blood, lymphatic vessels, infecting cells and tissues on its way. Reaching the brain, it is localized in the cells.

The disease is often acute, rarely chronic, lasting for life. Complications that arise during the development of the disease can end in paralysis or death - in 70–80% of patients complications persist for life, in 20% the development of the pathology ends in death.

The pathogenesis of the disease in humans

Tick-borne encephalitis is characterized by deep damage to the white and gray matter of the brain, sensory and motor roots of the spinal, cranial and peripheral nerves. In patients, the meninges swell and become hyperemic, the internal organs are affected - the kidneys, liver, lungs. There are irreversible processes of death of neurons, cerebral vessels.

The pathogenesis of encephalitis is diverse:

• with an insufficient dose of the virus, the disease does not develop,
• sometimes clinical symptoms do not appear, the disease is hidden;
• distinguish between such forms as meningitis, meningoencephalitis, febrile forms, encephalomyelitis;
• according to another classification, a form with brain damage and feverish is distinguished.

All people with tick-borne encephalitis should be tested for borreliosis at the same time, since ticks can be infected with both infections.

Clinic

The incubation period is 7‒14 days, sometimes up to 20 days. The disease develops acutely, patients complain:

• weakness, numbness of the skin of the neck and face, increased fatigue;
• fever up to 40 ° C, hyperemia of the skin and mucous membranes;
• pain in the whole body, muscle pain;
• the occurrence of paresis, paralysis.

There may be clouding of consciousness, stupor, coma. If symptoms of the disease appear, it is urgent to deliver the sick person to the infectious diseases department to clarify the diagnosis and conduct intensive medical treatment.

findings

The source of infection with encephalitis are small wild animals, in which the virus lives in the blood cells. Animals infect ticks that feed on them. Adult ticks bite a person - the chain closes. Compliance with safety rules, timely vaccination is a guarantee of human health.

Tick-borne encephalitis was not known to either the pioneers of Siberia or the settlers to the Far East until the 1930s. The closest related disease of tick-borne encephalitis is the so-called Japanese encephalitis, described by Japanese microbiologists in the 1920s of the last century. Then an epidemic outbreak arose in the Land of the Rising Sun, which claimed the lives of several thousand people. The disease was focal in nature, and the carrier of the virus was a mosquito. According to one version, this was the first test of biological weapons using insects, but the mosquito is too dangerous and unpredictable carrier of the disease, and therefore a slower, but surer way to carry the virus was chosen - a tick, widespread in the Far East and Siberian taiga.

For the first time in the USSR, the tick-borne encephalitis virus was described by A. G. Panov in 1935 in the Far East, and in 1937 it was discovered by a special expedition of military microbiologists led by Professor Zilbert. The expedition arrived when an epidemic of an unknown disease broke out among the soldiers of the Far Eastern group of the Red Army, often leading to death. Doctors did not immediately manage to establish the carrier of the virus. As a result, a tragedy occurred: one of the doctors who experimented on himself died, the other remained disabled. But they managed to establish that an unknown infection is carried by a tick.

The version about the involvement of Japanese military microbiologists in the encephalitis epidemic appeared almost immediately. But they started talking seriously about it after the Second World War, when it became known about the existence of the notorious "Detachment 731" of the Kwantung Army in Manchuria. Beginning in 1935, a secret laboratory operated 20 kilometers from Harbin, where experiments with biological weapons were carried out. The activities of Detachment 731 were curtailed after the USSR entered the war with Japan, when, on the orders of the commander of the Kwantung Army, General Otazo Yamada, the secret military town was destroyed. However, it was not possible to hide all the traces of the crime: the evidence collected in this case was included in the materials of the Khabarovsk trial of Japanese war criminals in 1949. However, the main materials of the Khabrovsky court are classified.
Revealing the truth is quite easy: for this it is necessary to compare the strains of Japanese mosquito encephalitis and tick-borne encephalitis, which has become widespread in Russia, but this is not yet possible, since Japanese strains are also still classified.

In Japan, the epidemic of mosquito encephalitis was suppressed and completely eliminated. In the USSR and Russia, tick-borne encephalitis turned out to be a ticking time bomb. In the 1960s, the encephalitic tick crossed the Yenisei, in the 1980s it crawled across the Urals and is now found throughout Russia, up to the Moscow region and the western borders.

che-ck.livejournal.com

Ticks: common features and differences of family members

Due to their small size and external similarity, ticks are mistakenly classified as insects. In fact, they belong to the class of arachnids. Their body has a solid structure without division into chest and abdomen. The main difference between species is the number of limbs; insects have 3 pairs of legs. How many legs does a tick have? It has 8 legs or 4 pairs.

Ticks (Acari) are arthropods. Like other members of the group, they have a chitin-containing cuticle (body shell). The main feature of this type is paired limbs, consisting of several segments.

According to the method of nutrition, representatives of the Acari family can be divided into several groups:

All members of the family, depending on the characteristics, were divided into several groups:

Acarimorph mites

Harvest ticks

Telling all about ticks, you can not miss the harvestmen. Members of this family are distinguished by relatively large sizes of 1–2.5 mm and long, thin legs. Their habitat is forest and field. Representatives of the species are predators, in some cases they feed on plant pollen and fungal spores.

Life cycle of mites

The state of diapause occurs in winter at any stage of development of ixodid species. In summer, at high temperatures and lack of moisture, they also freeze. Cases have been recorded when an adult tick was in a state of diapause up to 8 years.

Arachnids are part of nature

Each link in the ecological system has its own function. Ticks inhabit the earth, water, plants and living organisms in millions. They are an integral part of the natural balance. Like other fauna, arachnids are part of the food chain. What is the importance of ticks in nature and human life? Soil species process organic matter in the soil. Through the efforts of small arthropods, fertile humus appears. As food for reptiles, birds and insects, mites contribute to the survival of these species.

Arachnids eat fungal spores, algae and bacterial plaque. Predators reduce the number of insects, nematodes, worms. This feature makes them plant orderlies. Infecting animals with various diseases is a kind of natural way to control their numbers.

Female before and after feeding

Reproduction of ticks takes place in a peculiar way. Males fertilize females that feed on the body of animals. Bloodsuckers are champions in the number of laying eggs. One female leaves up to 17 thousand eggs in the ground. It is good that only a small part of the offspring survive. After birth, the larva feeds once, choosing a rodent as a host. After molting, she becomes a nymph. To turn into an imago (adult), one more food is needed. In total, ixodid ticks suck blood three times in their life. Most species change hosts, the last being a large animal or human.

The female ixodid family lays eggs

Attention. On the territory of Russia, two types of blood-sucking are considered the most dangerous - the taiga and dog ticks.

What diseases do ticks carry?

• tick-borne encephalitis virus;
• tularemia;
• Lyme disease or borreliosis;
• relapsing fever;
• Marseille fever;
• monocytic ehrlichiosis.

How does a tick bite

• the area behind the ears;
• groin and armpits;
• scalp;
• small of the back.

Attention. The number of people infected with encephalitis is 2-6% of those bitten by an ixodid species.

Where do ticks live?

Advice. Choose light-colored clothing for hiking, it is easier to notice brown ticks on it.

Why are ticks dangerous?

In addition to blood-sucking species that are the distributors of deadly diseases, there are many ticks that cause trouble. They are a source of irritation and allergies in humans and pets. Some hardly apply to gardens, fields, settle on houseplants. Among the species that exist near humans:

Where do ticks come from in apartments? They get into dwellings with dust, on people's clothes, animal hair. Favorable indoor conditions and an abundance of food lead to their spread.

Ways to fight

The impact of negative temperatures is also detrimental to them. Even being in a state of winter diapause, ticks die in winters with little snow. Items that cannot be hot processed can be frozen.

natural enemies

Carriers of dangerous diseases have many natural enemies. Birds that eat insects are not averse to eating arachnids. They are also eaten with pleasure by frogs and lizards. Natural enemies of ticks are red wood ants and ground beetles. In the natural ecosystem, ants control the dynamics of the increase in the number of bloodsuckers. Formic acid has a detrimental effect on mites. Ground beetles are polyphagous predators, they prey on small insects, but they also eat arthropods with pleasure.

beetlestop.ru

Today my friend eugine74 complained that he found two ticks in the garden, and they stopped by the garden for only half an hour. I do not like these ticks, I advised him to spray with special means. Meanwhile, ticks have never bitten me myself, apparently, we bypass each other (knocked on wood))).

I have long been interested in the question - where and when did these spiders appear in our country (they are mistakenly called insects). This question was based on old rumors that encephalitic ticks were deliberately thrown into the Far East by the Japanese in the 30s, intriguing us, and the ticks crawled further, to Russia. This rumor was voiced to me by Slava K., a teacher at the Moscow Higher School of the KGB in 1992. But nowhere in the media have I found even a hint confirming this fact. Moreover, I recently read an old book about the Far East, the book is so-so, terrible turbidity, the author is also not very brilliant, but its value lies in the fact that he describes in great detail the life of the Far East in the old regime, i.e. the times when Dersu Uzala roamed the taiga in search of the Ginseng root. And here it is written that prospectors and other taiga residents were already afraid of ticks and the consequences of vinegars.

So where and when did ticks appear in Russia? Perhaps someone knows this?

There are many ticks capable of transmitting diseases - these are taiga and forest and pasture and other types of ticks. And the attitude towards them is ambiguous. They are afraid of ticks, but here is what someone BALATSKY NIKOLAI NIKOLAEVICH from the Novosibirsk branch of the Russian Geographical Society writes about this:
Only thanks to the taiga tick, as an intermediary between a sick animal and a healthy person, we get a real 100% natural vaccine against possible infectious complications in the future.
And almost free of charge, having paid off with a tick only a microdose of his blood. Doctors give us similar vaccinations in childhood, for example, against smallpox. But at an older age, many vaccinations for humans are ineffective or contraindicated. Therefore, the sooner a person encounters ticks, the better for the immune system of our body. Only those people who have been cut off from the wild since childhood (townspeople), with poor health, as well as people who have a negative attitude towards other species (vision-haters) or who panic because of fear of ticks inspired by the press and television, should beware of ticks. This is beneficial only to those who earn money on artificial and far from safe vaccinations, as well as useless tick bite insurance. A very expensive immunoglobulin does not provide one hundred percent protection against the disease and is not so harmless to our health and immunity.

begamot-74.livejournal.com

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It seemed to you that there are more and more ticks every year? You didn't think so! Three years ago, 410,000 victims applied to the country's medical organizations for tick bites, the year before last - 440,000; and in the past - 530 thousand people. How many didn't apply? Two million? Three? About 2000-3700 people are infected by these arachnids with tick-borne encephalitis every year, 25-37 of them die. A little? Do not rush to breathe a sigh of relief. Cases of infection with Lyme disease (borreliosis) are detected up to 9900 per year, and this disease is not always detected. In total, ixodid ticks carry 300 species of pathogens (at least three viral, 22 bacterial and several protozoal infections are transmitted to humans) and infect ticks with them, according to some sources, every twentieth donor.

Why is the number of ticks growing so rapidly; is it possible to destroy them completely, how to protect yourself from ticks, what to do after a bite, why it is dangerous not to go to the laboratory, where the situation is the worst and how to process a summer cottage - Lenta.ru was looking for answers to all these questions.

Like raisins from compote

We brought a horse from near Rzhev during the May holidays,” Petr Kamenchenko, deputy editor-in-chief of Lenta.ru, tells about his personal experience with ticks. - In the Staritsky district of the Tver region, I still have a house from my grandfather. Bought a nice 11 month old foal. He raised his mane, and there is horror! Hundreds of sucked ticks look like raisins from the day before yesterday's compote! We called the familiar horsemen - they say it’s the same everywhere and no repellents help, only comb out and choose with your hands ... We decided to go to a neighboring village to visit, dressed according to science: everything was bright, everything was tucked in, laced up, sprayed with chemicals ... We passed through an abandoned field , I look, and the child has seven pieces running up his jeans, shook it off. About thirty meters later - five more pieces ... I spent all my childhood in these places and then - in the 1970s - 1980s - I only heard stories about ticks. And now something unreal is going on!

Here's another example. My friend bought a Boerboel puppy and took him to a dacha near Moscow in early June, where he left him with his old mother until the next weekend. Run freely. And when he returned, the inner sides of the dog's ear suspensions were covered with clusters of sucked mites so that there was no free space left. The dog will not go to the country anymore.

Personally, on weekends I walk my dog ​​in Serebryany Bor park in Moscow. Despite the anti-tick collar and the treatment of the dog with a special spray, after each walk I remove from him about five running ticks and a couple of attached ones.

What happened? After all, fifteen years ago in Moscow and adjacent regions, ixodid, or, as they are more commonly called by the people, encephalitis, ticks were exotic, and no one heard about their bites in the city at all. And what is happening in the Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Vologda, Kirov, Perm, Sverdlovsk regions, the Komi-Permyatsk Autonomous Okrug, the Republic of Mari El, the Udmurt Republic - historically abounding in ticks? Not to mention the Tomsk region - the absolute champion in the number of ticks and diseases transmitted by them? The answer is hell.

In the Tomsk region, ticks attacked people twice as often 20 years ago than anywhere else in Russia (a thousand people with Lyme disease in 1996), but this year the number of attacks has at least tripled. According to the Rospotrebnadzor of the Tomsk region, on May 4, 2016, 1902 people came to the points of seroprophylaxis with complaints of a tick bite. For comparison, on the same day - May 4, but a year earlier - only 610 bitten people turned to the same medical institutions. And this is not a record. On May 20, 2016, 4,203 victims of ticks turned to Tomsk prevention centers. Can you imagine what happens to dogs and horses there?

DDT

The exact cause of the tick invasion is unknown to scientists. Two working versions of the test did not survive. According to experts, the decrease in the intensity of agriculture and the corresponding interruption of the regular application of mineral fertilizers to the ecosystem, as well as the ban on burning last year's grass in fields and around settlements, did not affect the increase in the population of ixodid ticks.

At a certain temperature and humidity, malicious insects show such endurance and the will to win that even "strangers" from horror films never dreamed of. An adult tick can live in an active state and without food for more than nine months. Although the standard life cycle of ixodid is at least two years, in the absence of food or heat, mites enter diapause and can remain viable for up to seven or even 10 years. Eggs and adults are able to survive both drought and winter frosts.

More than 200 species of wild animals, birds, livestock, pets and, much less often, humans serve as donors for creatures in Russia. Under conditions of diapause, ticks are practically invulnerable to special anti-tick poisons (acaricides).

Studying ticks is not easy. Under laboratory conditions, they exhibit a normally uncharacteristic lethargy, depriving the plausibility of studies on the effect of exposure to protective equipment. Attempts to create specialized bacterial preparations that destroy tick larvae ended in failure. The female tick, sucking blood, lays thousands of eggs, each of which, if it manages to pass the stages of larva and nymph, can turn into an adult.

The only poison that can stop a tick on a regional or national scale is dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, better known as dust or DDT. 30 years ago, the drug was banned in most countries of the world, as it decomposes very poorly and accumulates in plants and organisms.

It is possible that it was the refusal to treat the natural breeding centers of ixodid ticks with DDT that led to their current invasion.

Curious fact. In South Africa, DDT was banned later than other countries - in 1996. After that, the incidence of malaria immediately increased by 6.5 times. In 2001, South Africa lifted its DDT ban, choosing the lesser of two evils.

The most common disease transmitted through tick bites is borreliosis, or Lyme disease. In half the cases, the bite site turns red, the spot expands, reaching a significant size in diameter. In some cases, borreliosis is initially asymptomatic or disguises itself as other diseases, for which it is called invisible. In the later stages, the disease leads to damage to the joints, heart and nervous system. Borreliosis does not apply to pets.

The most terrible tick-borne infections for humans are encephalitis (over the past year, the incidence in Russia has increased by 16 percent) and Crimean hemorrhagic fever (139 cases per year).

Well, our best friends - dogs, if they are small, old or weakened - easily die from babesiosis (piroplasmosis), which destroys red blood cells. Unfortunately, there are no statistics on dogs killed by ticks.

All tick-borne infections are treated in the early stages, but the only way to avoid catching borreliosis is to avoid biting the tick.

Where the tick feasts

Ticks love deciduous and mixed forests with thick, moderately moist litter. In dry coniferous forests, they are found ten times less often. There are none in the swamps.

They begin to attack at 4-5 degrees Celsius, in the second decade of April, and reach the peak of activity in the first half of June. In autumn, a second peak of activity is observed in some species.

Contrary to popular belief, ticks do not fall from trees and do not jump, - says Olga Germant, senior researcher at the Research Institute of Disinfectology of Rospotrebnadzor. - They hunt from the grass or from the bushes. Both larvae, and nymphs, and adults hunt, but mainly the latter stick to a person. The tick climbs onto a blade of grass, clings to it with three pairs of paws, and raises its front paws up, as if praying. At the tips of the front paws there is a whole mechanism for capturing the victim: a set of hooks and suction cups. In choosing a host, ticks are not picky at all. They react to heat. Having moved to a potential donor, ticks crawl up and try to find a secluded place. Until the moment of suction, about 30 minutes pass - this is the head start that is given to a person in order to remove the tick. In hazardous areas, it is necessary to constantly make mutual and independent inspections.

The seized tick should never be crushed by hand. It is necessary to put the tick in a glass container and deliver it to the nearest laboratory for the study of ticks, where the arthropod will be checked for encephalitis, borrelia, and so on. It is best to deliver the tick alive.

How to be saved

Ixodid ticks are only conditionally afraid of repellent repellents. If you still use repellents, you need to make sure that they contain at least 25-30 percent diethyltoluamide (DEET). But ticks are very afraid of special poisons - acaricides. The difficulty is that applying acaricides to the skin is strictly prohibited. They are sprayed on clothing, outside living quarters. Be sure to follow the method of application and the safety measures indicated on the label.

You can also purchase special clothing already treated with an acaricidal composition. Clothing should be light and solid so that the tick is visible on it. If you are going to a tick activity area, trousers should be tucked into socks, a shirt should be zipped and tucked into trousers, cuffs should be close to the wrists. Ticks cannot bite through clothes. Proper, acaricidal-treated clothing gives a 100% guarantee against a tick bite.

If ticks have appeared in your summer cottage, they can be treated with a special compound, and they will disappear for a month and a half. It is necessary either to order professional treatment of the territory with acaricides, or to carry out such treatment yourself. The Research Institute of Disinfectology recommends such products as Alpicid, Breeze 25% e. k.", "Gardex Extreme" (Gardex Extreme), "Concentrate to protect the territory from ticks", "MEDILIS-cyper", "Kleshchevit super" and "Cifox". The method of processing is indicated on the insert label (on the website of the FBUN Research Institute of Disinfectology of Rospotrebnadzor, full information is provided on all means allowed for use for this purpose).

The vaccine exists only for tick-borne viral encephalitis and tularemia.

Weak, but still a consolation can be the fact that not only Russia suffers from ixodid ticks and the diseases they carry. This problem is extremely serious in Canada, Germany, the Czech Republic, China, the USA and many other countries.

Biohelminths and geohelminths