Doctors warn avoiding ticks

Doctors advise being careful when going out for a walk, especially in parks and forests. Epidemiologist Ion Cebotari, of the Chisinau Public Health Center, has told Info-Prim Neo that the number of cases of Borrelia or Lyme disease, which is widely transmitted by tick bite, is on the rise. Ticks are common parasites that can be found anywhere, from the deep woods to urban parks. Ticks live in the fur and feathers of many birds and animals. Tick bites occur most often during early spring to late summer and in areas where there are many wild animals and birds. Common tick-borne diseases include: ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, anaplasmosis and others. Most ticks do not carry diseases, and most tick bites do not cause serious health problems. But it is important to remove a tick as soon as finding it. Removing the tick's body helps to avoid diseases the tick may pass on during feeding. Removing the tick's head helps prevent an infection in the skin. Some people may have an allergic reaction to a tick bite. This reaction may be mild, with a few annoying symptoms. In rare cases, a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) may occur. Many of the diseases ticks carry cause flu-like symptoms, such as fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, and muscle aches. Symptoms may begin from 1 day to 3 weeks after the tick bite. Sometimes a rash or sore appears along with the flu-like symptoms. Ion Cebotari said that 56 cases of Lyme disease were recorded in 2010, while in 2011 this figure rose to 111 cases. In the first five months of this year, such cases totaled 36, 20 of which have been reported this month. It is recommended wearing long sleeved, light-colored clothing, with tightly woven fabric while in a heavily wooded area. This gives ticks less area to target and allows seeing ticks on clothing. When returning from the outdoors, one should check for ticks and be especially observant of hair, body folds, ears, underarms and the back.