2023-07-17 04:15:00
Since May 2021, tick-borne encephalitis – one of the diseases that certain ticks can transmit – has been a notifiable disease, along with the chikungunya and Zika viruses, or even botulism, listeriosis or tetanus.
And this, due to “the increase in the incidence of the disease throughout Europe and the extension of the area and the period where the virus usually circulates”, indicates Public Health France, which has just published the report. the first two years of monitoring these cases of tick-borne encephalitis.
The tick-borne encephalitis virus, most often transmitted by infected ticks of the genus Ixodes ricinus, suddenly causes symptoms such as “fever, headaches and pain in muscles and joints”, continues the agency. National Public Health.
In 20 to 30% of patients, symptoms due to damage to the central or peripheral nervous system appear, with “prostration or agitation, tremors, behavioral disorders, vigilance or consciousness disorders, sometimes convulsions or coma”. Death occurs in less than 1% of cases. Sequelae, neurological and/or psychiatric, are frequent. To date, there is no treatment for the disease.
71 cases in three years
Until now, there were about twenty cases in France each year. In 2021, the first year of the official count, there were 30, then 36 in 2022, and 5 in 2023 (count carried out until May). “86% of the cases were cases of ‘indigenous’ infection (61 cases) and 14% (10 cases) had been infected in a country ‘at risk’, during a trip or because it is It was their usual place of residence, ”explains Public Health France. 94% of cases were hospitalized.
15% of cases exercised professions exposing them particularly to tick bites: professions related to horses and ruminants, and with nature (horticulture, forestry, etc.).
Precisely because it has many forest massifs, the Auvergne-Rhône Alpes region is now “an important area for the circulation of the virus”, and particularly the sectors of Forez and southern Ardèche. But Haute-Savoie is the department that reported the most cases during these two years.
“This dynamic underlines the need to protect against ticks in the event of work or leisure in all places”, concludes Public Health France. The advice is the same as for protecting yourself against Lyme disease: cover yourself as much as possible with long clothes; stay on paths and avoid brush, ferns and tall grass; use skin repellents.
Back home, a careful examination of all parts of the body is recommended. If a tick is found, it must be removed as quickly as possible using a tick remover.
To note : the transmission of the virus can also take place, in rare cases, on the occasion of the consumption of raw milk or cheese made from raw milk, mainly goat or sheep.
Source: Public Health France – June 2023
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