Home Medicines Is there a vaccine for borreliosis. Borreliosis (Lyme disease, Lyme disease, Lyme borreliosis)

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Is there a vaccine for borreliosis. Borreliosis (Lyme disease, Lyme disease, Lyme borreliosis)

Over the past 30 years, the number of tick-borne infections has increased significantly. Various types of ticks have inhabited the world, and many of them are carriers of pathogens. It is important to know their symptoms, how to diagnose and treat tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis (Lyme disease), two of the most common diseases in Europe that can be caused by a bite from these insects. After all, timely treatment plays a key role in preventing serious consequences. The elderly and children are most susceptible to them.

Symptoms

The most common transmitted tick-borne infections - tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) and Lyme disease - show several of these symptoms in the first stage. Both of them are accompanied by flu symptoms. However, TBE is a viral infection, while Lyme disease is caused by bacteria. Both diseases can cause serious long-term complications, therefore, staying in the areas where these insects may live should not be taken lightly.

Tick-borne encephalitis

The incubation period for CE is generally 7 to 14 days and is asymptomatic. In the first stage, TBE infection causes flu-like symptoms such as fever, malaise, decreased appetite, muscle pain, headaches, nausea and / or vomiting. They begin to appear one to two weeks after being bitten by an infected tick. About 25% of all patients infected with tick-borne encephalitis develop more severe symptoms during the second stage, which begins four weeks later. High fever and persistent sleepiness can be a sign of inflammation of the brain or spinal cord. Severe headaches, nausea, vomiting, disorientation, seizures, paralysis, partial or complete loss of consciousness, coma are also observed. The disease can be fatal or leave permanent neurological complications.

Borreliosis

Lyme disease can cause a wide range of symptoms, making it sometimes difficult to diagnose. It typically affects connective tissue, muscles, and the nervous system. The disease develops 1-3 weeks after the bite. Erythema migrans may also appear - redness with a diameter of one to several centimeters, slightly convex, warm, painful to the touch. This rash appears more often in or near it, but not necessarily.

If the disease goes unnoticed, then the bacteria can affect the nervous system at a later stage. It causes various neurological symptoms such as local paralysis, speech defects, and mood swings.

Erythema migrans - Lyme disease rash

After a year, Lyme disease becomes chronic and has many symptoms, such as fever, chills, headaches, arthritis, muscle twitching, dizziness, difficulty speaking, and loss of spatial awareness.

Diagnostics

To diagnose encephalitis, the doctor needs information about all symptoms, as well as recent illnesses and risk factors (being near people with viral infections, in the habitat of mosquitoes or ticks, for example).

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), lumbar puncture, and electroencephalogram (EEG) are also used. Taking a blood test to check for viruses, bacteria and immune cells is also very informative.

In some cases, a biopsy of the brain tissue is done, which is necessary to confirm the diagnosis if symptoms worsen and treatment does not bring positive results. This procedure is important for determining the type of encephalitis and for prescribing appropriate treatment.

Lyme disease is much more difficult to diagnose because it has a number of non-specific symptoms that can accompany other diseases. If there is no rash characteristic of borreliosis, then to make a diagnosis, the doctor asks questions about the patient's medical history, including about staying in tick habitats, where the likelihood of infection is high.

Laboratory tests for antibodies to bacteria can be used to confirm the diagnosis. These tests are most reliable a few weeks after infection, but, unfortunately, they cannot 100% confirm or deny the presence of borreliosis.

Early diagnosis and initiation of treatment provide a better chance of a full recovery.

Treatment

Treatment of tick-borne encephalitis involves the intravenous administration of antiviral drugs, such as:

Acyclovir (Zovirax);
Ganciclovir (Cytovene);
Foscavir.

Side effects of antiviral drugs may include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and muscle pain.

For people with encephalitis, additional supporting procedures are also needed. They provide:

continuous monitoring of cardiac function and respiration;
iV drips to ensure proper hydration and the normal maintenance of essential minerals in the body;
anti-inflammatory drugs, such as corticosteroids, to reduce intracranial pressure and swelling;
anticonvulsants to stop or prevent seizures.

After an illness, recovery procedures may be needed. These treatments may include:

physical therapy;
occupational therapy;
speech therapy;
psychotherapy.

Antibiotics are used to treat Lyme disease. In the first stage, oral administration is recommended. Treatment involves the use of doxycycline for adults and children over 8 years of age or amoxicillin (cefuroxime) for adults, young children, and pregnant and lactating women. The duration of the course is 7-14 days.

If the disease affects the central nervous system, doctors recommend treatment with intravenous antibiotics for 14 to 28 days.

Along with antibiotics, additional and alternative treatments can be used:

proper nutrition;
consuming probiotics;
phytotherapy.

Prevention

The best prevention against tick-borne encephalitis and borrelioschis is to observe the following measures to protect against tick bites:

wear long-sleeved shirts and long trousers when in woods or areas with tall grass
use repellents - deterrent agents;
wear light-colored clothing that is easier to spot mites, and check your skin thoroughly after being outdoors.
if a tick is found, remove it with tweezers, making sure all parts (body and head) are removed.

Vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis

Vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis is possible. It is highly recommended for people who are regularly at risk of exposure to infections in infected areas. A variety of vaccines are available in healthcare settings. Complete immunization can be achieved after three doses over three weeks. For long-term immunization, three initial doses are administered over 9-12 months. But still, they must be updated every three to five years. Children are also immunized.

Do you know that when blood is sucked up, the body areas between sclerites (compacted areas of the chitinous cover of the tick) stretch and the ticks (females, nymphs, larvae) increase in size up to 300 times?

Do you know that the release of ticks from the shelters from the litter after winter can be extended for several months. It is known that the peak release of ticks after winter occurs when the buds of birches open. The daily activity of ticks is associated with illumination (they usually do not attack at night). If it is very hot during the day, then the activity is more in the morning and in the evening, if the temperature is below 10 - 12 degrees. C - ticks are not active. Ticks do not like moisture (as long as the dew is not dry, they do not attack).

Do you know that, if a tick has attacked, it “thinks” for 2 hours before launching the proboscis, and chooses the place of suction. If you remove the tick before it begins to feed, infection does not occur, therefore at least every 2 hours it is necessary to carry out self-examination or mutual inspection.

There are 6 genera of ticks in Russia. The female attacks the host, attaches and feeds on blood for 10 days, then disappears, lays eggs in the soil and dies.

The threat posed by ticks inhabiting Russia remains the highest in the world, not only in terms of the prevalence of diseases, but also the severity of the consequences. The tick-borne encephalitis virus strain that circulates in European countries does not pose a threat to life, while deaths have been recorded in Russia after being bitten by an infected tick, and more than 25% of those affected by the attack of ticks remained disabled.

Every year, according to medical institutions, 7-8 thousand residents of Moscow and the Moscow region, who have suffered from tick bites, seek medical help. The tick bite itself is not dangerous, but if the tick is infected with the tick-borne encephalitis virus, or borreliosis, then there is a threat to the victim's health.

Where is the disease registered?

Currently, the disease with tick-borne encephalitis is recorded almost throughout the territory of Russia (about 50 territories of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation are registered), where ticks are its main carriers. The most disadvantaged regions in terms of morbidity are: the Ural, West Siberian, East Siberian and Far East regions, and from the adjacent to the Moscow region - Tver and Yaroslavl.

When traveling to a territory endemic for tick-borne encephalitis, is it necessary to receive preventive vaccinations against this disease? Specific immunoglobulin against tick-borne encephalitis (seroprophylaxis) is indicated to be administered to persons with a tick suction that has occurred in a territory endemic for tick-borne encephalitis, no later than 4 days from the moment of suction. The territory of Moscow and the Moscow region is free from tick-borne encephalitis.

Where can I find out if there is a risk of infection in the area of \u200b\u200binterest anddo i need to be vaccinated?

The list of disadvantaged areas as of the current year, approved by the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-being, is available in medical institutions and on the Internet on the website of the Rospotrebnadzor Administration for the city of Moscow http://www.77rospotrebnadzor.ru/ press -center.

The study of ticks for infection with the tick-borne encephalitis virus can be carried out in the department of especially dangerous infections of the microbiological laboratory of the FGUZ "Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology in Moscow (Grafsky lane, 4/9, tel. 687-40-47)."

What are the main signs of the disease?

The disease is characterized by spring-summer seasonality associated with the period of greatest tick activity. The incubation (latent) period usually lasts 10-14 days, with fluctuations from 1 to 60 days.

The disease begins acutely, accompanied by chills, severe headache, a sharp rise in temperature to -38-39 degrees, nausea, vomiting. Disturbed by muscle pains, which are most often localized in the neck and shoulders, thoracic and lumbar back, extremities. The patient's appearance is characteristic - the face is hyperemic (red), hyperemia often spreads to the trunk.

Who is susceptible to infection?

All people, regardless of age and gender, are susceptible to infection with tick-borne encephalitis. Persons whose activities are associated with being in the forest are at greatest risk: employees of timber industry enterprises, geological exploration parties, builders of roads and railways, oil and gas pipelines, power lines, topographers, hunters, tourists. Townspeople become infected in suburban forests, forest parks, and garden plots.

The population protection system is the basis for health education.

Special personal protective equipment:

chemical treatment of clothes;
special (anti-encephalitis) clothing.

Environmental transformation measure:

clearing the territory (in children's health camps, it is better not bushes, but flower beds along the paths);
elimination of tick vectors - carrying out deratization;
elimination of living conditions and attracting rodents (clearing territories, garbage collection, etc.)

How can you protect yourself from tick-borne encephalitis?

Tick-borne encephalitis disease can be prevented with the help of nonspecific and specific prophylaxis.

Non-specific individual (personal) protection of people includes:

Compliance with the rules of behavior in a dangerous area with respect to ticks (conduct self and mutual examinations every 10-15 minutes to detect ticks; it is not recommended to sit down and lie down on the grass; arrange parking and overnight stays in the forest in areas devoid of grass vegetation or in dry pine forests on sandy soils; after returning from the forest or before spending the night, it is necessary to take off clothes, carefully examine the body and clothes; it is not recommended to bring freshly cut plants, outerwear and other objects into the room on which ticks may appear; examine dogs and other animals to detect and remove from them attached and sucked ticks);
Wearing special clothing. In the absence of special clothing, dress in such a way as to facilitate a quick inspection for the detection of ticks; wear plain light clothing; tuck trousers into boots, knee-highs or socks with a dense elastic band, top of clothing into trousers; sleeve cuffs should fit snugly against the arm; shirt collars and trousers must have fasteners or have a tight fastener, under which a tick cannot crawl; put on a hood on your head, sewn to a shirt, jacket or tuck your hair under a scarf, hat.

How to remove a tick?

To remove the tick and primary treatment of the bite site, you should contact the trauma center, or remove it yourself. The tick should be removed very carefully so as not to cut off the proboscis, which is deeply and strongly strengthened for the entire period of suction.

When removing a tick, the following recommendations must be observed:

grab the tick with tweezers or fingers wrapped in clean gauze as close as possible to its mouth apparatus and, holding strictly perpendicular to the surface of the bite, turn the tick body around its axis, remove it from the skin;
disinfect the site of the bite with any means suitable for these purposes (70% alcohol, 5% iodine, alcohol-containing agents).
after removing the tick, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water.
if a black point remains (detachment of the head or proboscis), treat with 5% iodine and leave until natural elimination.

The removed tick is recommended to be tested for infection with borrelia and TVE virus in the laboratory. Ticks removed from a person are placed in a hermetically sealed container with a small piece of slightly damp cotton wool and sent to the laboratory. If it is impossible to study the tick, burn it or pour boiling water over it.

Measures for specific prevention of tick-borne encephalitis:

Preventive vaccinations against tick-borne encephalitis are carried out to individuals of certain professions who work in endemic foci or leave for them (business travelers, students of construction teams, tourists, people who go on vacation, to garden plots). All persons leaving for work or rest in disadvantaged areas must be vaccinated.

Emergency seroprophylaxis is carried out to unvaccinated persons who applied for a tick suction in a territory endemic for tick-borne viral encephalitis.

Where can you get the tick-borne encephalitis vaccine?

In Moscow, in all administrative districts from March to September, vaccination centers function annually at the bases of polyclinics, medical units, health centers of educational institutions: (in the Western Administrative District - in the children's polyclinic No. 119; in the polyclinics for adults: No. 209, No. 162 and the Moscow State University polyclinic No. 202), as well as the Central Vaccination Center on the basis of polyclinic No. 13 (Trubnaya str., 19, building 1 telephone: 621-94-65).

When should you get the tick-borne encephalitis vaccine?

Only a doctor can give advice on prophylaxis.

You can vaccinate with the "Entsevir" vaccine (Russia) children from 3 years old and adults with the "Encepur" vaccine (Germany) - children from 1 year old and adults.

Vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis must be started 1.5 months before (Russia) or 1 month before. (Germany) before leaving for an unfavorable territory.

Vaccination with a domestic vaccine consists of 2 injections, the minimum interval between which is 1 month. After the last injection, at least 14 days must elapse before leaving the site. During this time, immunity is developed. After a year, it is necessary to make a revaccination, which consists of only 1 injection, then the revaccination is repeated every 3 years.

Vaccination with the vaccine "Encepur" three times within 21 days.

If, before departure, a person does not have time to get vaccinated in emergency cases, it is possible to inject human immunoglobulin against tick-borne encephalitis before leaving for an unfavorable territory (pre-exposure prophylaxis), the effect of the drug manifests itself after 24 - 48 hours and lasts about 4 weeks.

What should you do and where to go if you are not vaccinated and a tick sucked during a visit to an area unfavorable for tick-borne encephalitis?

Seroprophylaxis is carried out to unvaccinated persons - the introduction of human immunoglobulin against tick-borne encephalitis no later than the 4th day after tick suction (around the clock) :.

adults in the Research Institute of Emergency and Emergency Medical Care named after Sklifosovsky (Moscow, Sukharevskaya square, 3) ;;
children in the Children's Clinical Hospital № 13 named after Filatov (Moscow, Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya, 15).

Where to conduct a laboratory test of ticks?

Investigations of ticks for infection with pathogens of natural focal infectious diseases are carried out at the Federal Budgetary Healthcare Institution "Federal Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology", the Federal State Budgetary Healthcare Institution "Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology in Moscow", and the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor.

When contacting the laboratory, it is necessary to provide information about the date and territory where the tick sucked in steam (region, region, settlement).

Where to conduct a laboratory blood test?

Upon receipt of a positive laboratory test result, it is necessary to urgently seek medical help from medical institutions.

Tick-borne borreliosis (synonyms: Lyme disease, Lyme borreliosis, ixodic tick-borne borreliosis) are transmissible natural focal infections with an acute or chronic course, in which skin damage is possible. Nervous, cardiovascular systems, liver and musculoskeletal system.

The causative agent of Lyme disease, the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, is transmitted by ixodid ticks.

A person becomes infected in a transmissible way - when a tick sucks, the pathogen is transmitted with saliva.

Many species of small mammals, ungulates, birds are reservoirs of the pathogen and "hosts" of ticks. In Russia, the main hosts are small rodents - the bank and red-gray voles, the root vole and the wood mouse.

There is no official list of areas endemic for tick-borne borreliosis. The area of \u200b\u200bdistribution of this disease is wider than the area of \u200b\u200btick-borne encephalitis. Cases of tick-borne borreliosis are also registered in territories free from tick-borne encephalitis.

Incubation periodranges from 3 to 45 days (on average 12-14 days), according to some authors up to 60 days. The ability of the pathogen to persist for a long time in the body determines the formation of chronic forms of the disease, which occurs in the form of systemic organ damage.

Clinical manifestations. In most patients, at the site of the entrance gate, a characteristic skin lesion develops in the form of a migratory ring erythema. However, the pathological process can not always be limited only to skin lesions. There are changes in the regional lymphatic system, pain in muscles, joints, fever, signs of intoxication. In cases caused by a large dose and pathogenicity of the pathogen, it spreads through the blood and lymphatic vessels in the central nervous system, myocardium, muscles, joints, liver, spleen. In such cases, the second stage of the disease develops, in which various symptoms of neuroborreliosis (meningitis, polyneuritis, myelitis), arthritis, myositis, pericarditis, hepatitis, etc.

In 20-45% of boron patients, a form of the disease without local skin changes is observed. Diagnosis in such cases by clinical signs is almost impossible. Only carrying out serological diagnostic methods can make it possible to make a correct diagnosis.

The disease often occurs in mild, worn-out forms.

Measures for specific prevention of tick-borne borreliosis have not been developed.In this regard, the main measures to prevent the disease are methods of non-specific prevention (see Tick-borne encephalitis).

When a tick sucks in the forest park zones of Morskva and the Moscow Region, it is necessary to remove the tick and carry out the initial processing of the suction site in the trauma centers of the city, it is advisable to save the tick for further research for borrelia infection (see Tick-borne encephalitis).

If clinical manifestations appear, you should contact an infectious disease specialist at a medical institution.A patient with suspected tick-borne borreliosis should undergo serological blood tests.

Studies of ticks for infestation with borrelia can be carried out in the laboratory performing this type of study (see Tick-borne encephalitis).

Upon receipt of positive results of a laboratory test of a tick for infection with borrelia, it is necessary to contact an infectious disease specialist or attending physician for examination and possible prescription of antibiotics.

Before the season of tick activity, many people give vaccinations that work only against encephalitis. There is no vaccine against borreliosis. In order not to get sick with this unpleasant ailment, it is better to take measures in advance that can prevent insect bites.

Prevention of tick-borne borreliosis

A vaccine against this disease is not currently available. Therefore, a person must take care of protective measures himself before visiting places where ticks are likely to live.

The greatest tick activity occurs in May and June. But in the period from April to October, when the soil temperature is within 5 °, bites of these insects are also possible. Mostly ticks crawl on the ground or live in grass. Their potential victims are not immediately bitten. First they cling to clothes, then for several hours they look for a place to bite.

Ticks live not only in forests, but also in garden plots, city lawns, parks and other places with grass cover. Pets after a walk can bring them to their apartment. Therefore, dogs and cats should be examined well after returning home.

Prepare for visiting insect habitats as follows:

shoes should be as closed as possible;
trousers are tucked into shoes;
the jacket should be with tight-fitting sleeves;
it is necessary to use a variety of repellents that repel ticks;
it is better to pre-vaccinate against encephalitis, even if there is no way to protect yourself from borreliosis.

Stores offer antiencephalitis suits. This is a good clothing for visiting the forest, it protects from insects. You can treat the suit on top with anti-mite agents.

The tick does not immediately dig into the body, but looks for a place for a long time. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly examine yourself and your companions. If the clothes are light, then all the insects are better visible on it.

Returning home, you need to carefully examine yourself again. Taking a shower, you can get rid of the non-sucking ticks - the water will wash them away. You can't press them with your hands - you can get infected.

If the area is endemic for borreliosis, then prophylaxis with antibiotics is carried out. But this does not guarantee that the person will not get sick. A person bitten by a tick must monitor his well-being, even if the medicine was previously administered to him. If symptoms of tick-borne borreliosis are not observed, then it is better to play it safe and get tested after 6 weeks. If the result is negative, the surrender is repeated after another month, and then after six months, since antibodies can manifest themselves with a delay.

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How to remove a stuck tick?

If a tick has stuck, then it is important to get rid of it correctly as soon as possible. In no case should you smear it with oil - the risk of contracting borreliosis increases.

To remove, you can use tweezers, which need to grab the body of the insect closer to the proboscis. Rotating around the axis, sip slowly. After a couple of turns, the tick is well removed.

Having removed the harmful creature, the wound must be lubricated with iodine or any antiseptic. Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water and disinfect the instrument.

If the proboscis remains, then there is nothing wrong. A small suppuration forms at this place, gradually everything will come out with pus.

There are a few rules to remember to get rid of a tick:

caustic solutions (ammonia, gasoline, etc.) do not apply to the bitten area;
do not cauterize the tick with improvised means (for example, a cigarette);
when removing, do not jerk sharply in order to prevent rupture;
do not pick anything in the wound;
never crush the tick.

The extracted insect must be taken to the laboratory for analysis. This will help to understand if the bitten has a disease. In the sanitary and epidemiological station, the tick is examined for 3 days.

You can also check the tick yourself, having a special express test at hand.

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A little about Lyme disease

Tick-borne borreliosis also bears this name. The disease was first diagnosed in 1975 in the United States, in the city of Lyme. At the same time, several people were diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Two years later, the pathogen was identified - it turned out to be an ixodid tick infected with the borrelia microbe.

The study of the disease began, which led to the possibility of treating the disease. But it has not yet been possible to prevent infection: an effective vaccine against the disease has not been found.

The incubation period lasts about two weeks, sometimes up to a month. Where the tick has stuck, the skin turns red - this is the first sign of an illness. Gradually the red spot increases. Its size is up to 10 cm. There are cases of a much larger spot - up to 60 cm. The shape of the spot is round, the outer layer is more red and convex. Gradually, the central part of the spot turns pale and may even acquire a bluish tint. A crust appears at the site of the bite, turning into a scar. If no treatment is performed, the stain disappears after 2-3 weeks.

The following symptoms appear on average after a month: damage to the heart, nervous system, joints.

Lyme disease is divided into 3 stages of development:

The first stage lasts about a month. The bite site turns red. Necrosis is possible. Gradually, secondary spots appear, rashes on the face in the form of rings, conjunctivitis.
In the second stage, the pathogen enters other organs. The nervous system is affected. At the same time, the liver, kidneys, eyes, as well as the skin can be affected.
After 3 months, the third stage begins. The disease becomes chronic. The patient becomes very tired, sleep is disturbed, depression appears. Many organs begin to work poorly.

The disease is not transmitted to a healthy person from an infected person. But during pregnancy, a woman can infect the fetus with borreliosis.

In general, the incidence of tick-borne borreliosis is very high. Immunity against the disease is developed for a short time, so re-infection is possible after 5 years from the moment of cure.

Migrant ticks: Borreliosis is easier in Russia than encephalitis.

Every year in Russia several thousand cases of infection with borreliosis are recorded. This infection, like encephalitis, is carried by forest ticks. There is no vaccine against it. What causes the disease and how dangerous it is - in the material of RIA Novosti.

The causative agent of borreliosis is the bacterium Borrelia, related to spirochetes, which lives in the body of common forest ticks of the ixodid family. They do not cause any trouble for arthropods, but mammals' immunity against them is powerless. Having sucked on the skin of a person or animal, the tick injects saliva to numb the bite. It is with her that microbes penetrate into the blood.

If a domestic goat or cow is infected with borreliosis, the infection can enter the human body through raw milk.

From chills to disability

The first symptoms - high fever, chills, weakness, muscle aches - appear on the fifth or seventh day after infection. The bite site swells, a pink or bluish rash forms on the skin - erythema. However, sometimes at this stage, the disease is almost asymptomatic. According to a recent study, pathogenic bacteria have learned to trick our immune system by producing a protein that suppresses the body's initial immune response.

The disease is stopped if you consult a doctor in time and take a course of antibiotics. Otherwise, it goes into the second phase: borrelia with blood and lymph flow spread throughout the body, affecting the brain. Fever and rash are replaced by neurological symptoms: headache, numbness of the extremities, inflammation of the trigeminal or facial nerve, often meningitis and meningoencephalitis. After two to three months, borreliosis reaches the joints, causing infectious arthritis, which is fraught with disability.

The causative agent of borreliosis is Borrelia burgdorferi. One of three pathogenic bacteria of this genus.

Prevention instead of vaccination

For the first time, doctors drew attention to borreliosis in 1975 in the United States, in the city of Lyme. Hence the second name of the infection is Lyme disease. A few years ago in Russia it was considered exotic. In Moscow, the first case of infection was recorded only in 1985 at the N.F. Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology.

In the last 15-20 years, due to climate change and human economic activity, tick vectors migrate to Russia from Asia. Moscow and the Moscow region suffer the most. According to Rospotrebnadzor, borreliosis accounts for up to 58% of all infections carried by ticks in the capital region. Last year, 862 cases of Lyme disease were registered in Moscow.

In the country as a whole, borreliosis is infected three times more often than viral tick-borne encephalitis. In 2017, 6,717 Russians (4.59 per 100 thousand of the population) fell ill with borreliosis from a bite of forest ticks, 1943 people (1.33 per 100 thousand) fell ill with tick-borne encephalitis.

Thanks to mass vaccination in high-risk areas, the incidence of tick-borne encephalitis can be contained. According to Rospotrebnadzor, 2.7 million Russians were vaccinated against encephalitis in 2017 alone. By April 6, this figure exceeded 700 thousand people. There is still no vaccine against borreliosis in the world, although there have been attempts to develop and apply it.

The first recombinant borreliosis vaccine "Lymerix" (LYMErix), created in 1998 in the United States, contained the Osp A protein isolated from the envelope of the pathogenic bacteria. Once in human blood, he provoked the production of antibodies capable of destroying Borrelia. The vaccine has shown its effectiveness in 76% of adults and 100% of children (a total of ten thousand people took part in clinical trials). However, Limerix was too expensive, some patients complained of side effects, so the vaccine was not widely used and in 2002 it was discontinued.

Scientists have found a "dracula" tick trapped in amber 100 million years ago

In 2016, scientists from the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine (USA) announced the creation of a borreliosis vaccine that does not cause unwanted side effects. Lyme PReP, a drug containing specific antibodies to the causative bacterium, is now being tested on animals, but even if all goes well, it will not be publicly available until five to seven years from now. Therefore, while the emphasis is on prevention.

Scientists warn that from ten to twenty percent of ticks carry Borrelia, therefore, when poisoning in nature, wear closed clothes with elastic cuffs, preferably light colors (it is better visible on it), use repellents. After long walks in the forest or park, be sure to check yourself for ticks. Having found a bloodsucker, you need to take it for analysis to an epidemiological laboratory, even if there are no signs of malaise.