Entomologists of the Brest region note an increase in tick activity

June 18, Brest. The activity of ticks in the Brest region has increased compared to last year. Such information is posted on the website of the regional center of hygiene, epidemiology and public HEALTH.

In January-May, 667 people applied to the health care institutions of the region about tick bites, of which 341 (51%) were children and adolescents under the age of 17 years. Compared to the same period last year, the number of victims increased by 3.5% (644 people in 2020, including 283 (44%) children).

Tick ​​bites were recorded everywhere. Most of these cases occurred in summer cottages, gardens and orchards, private farmsteads in rural areas (44.4%). Also, bloodsuckers attacked people in cities (31.2%), in forests (16.2%), urban recreation areas (3.4%)

At the same time, entomological surveys of natural biotopes showed that the number of ticks decreased and amounted to 4.47 specimens per flag/km (for 5 months of 2020 - 5.7 specimens).

The laboratories examined 357 ticks taken from the human body. Almost half of them were infected with Borrelia. No causative agents of tick-borne encephalitis were found (for 5 months of the last year, the infection of the studied ticks with causative agents of tick-borne encephalitis was 3.2%).

In the Brest region, the highly active natural foci of tick-borne encephalitis are traditionally Belovezhskaya and Ruzhanskaya forests in Kamenets and Pruzhany districts, the Bronnaya Gora forest in the Berezovsky district, as well as the territories adjacent to them in the Ivatsevichy district, the forests of the Malorita district, which border on the Shatsky National Park of Ukraine, forests of the White Lake of the Brest region, separate territories of the Ivanovsky region. Also, infection with tick-borne encephalitis is possible when eating raw goat's MILK, rarely cow's milk.

Ticks can get into a home with bouquets of flowers, medicinal herbs, brooms, firewood, berries, mushrooms, and pets. There are many ticks in young aspen thickets, in forest clearings, in raspberries, along trails, roads, where cattle graze. Very often, ticks live in large numbers in undeveloped, grassy areas of individual buildings.

Entomologists note that the activity and number of ticks in nature increases with increasing heat and will remain at a high level until July. In order to protect themselves and avoid attack and sucking by ticks, residents of the region are advised to take personal preventive measures: wear light-colored clothes, cover open areas of the body as much as possible, use repellents, and conduct self- and mutual examinations.