Tick-Borne Encephalitis: Risks, Vaccines, and Protection Tips

2023-05-18 00:06:30

Themes for today’s episode:

• The evolution of diseases in children (5:27)
• Which ticks are invisible to the naked eye? (7:03)
• How to properly remove a tick? (10:47)
• One dose of vaccine is not enough, who does the insurance reimburse? (13:47)
• Are repellents effective? (18:35)

In France, ticks can transmit four infectious diseases. “For the past ten years, between 400 and 800 patients have fallen ill each year,” explains Ms Smíšková in her introduction.

If the temperature remains between 5°C and 20-25°C for a long time, ticks become active. Ms Smíšková says they wake up a little earlier each year, but the season usually starts in spring, in early or mid-May.

Patients risk paralysis

The number of people infected with tick-borne encephalitis and Lyme disease seems small, but the consequences of these diseases are serious. “In the vast majority of cases, patients have to be hospitalized. Unfortunately, we also see one or two deaths from tick-borne encephalitis every year,” says the doctor.

Tick-borne encephalitis can cause us more serious problems than Lyme disease, including death. The infection attacks a person’s nervous system and can cause lasting and permanent paralysis of the limbs. The incubation period for the disease is 14 days, with flu-like symptoms. These include fatigue, headaches, muscle and joint pain, fever or malaise.

Dita Smíšková, doctor at the Infectious Diseases Clinic of Bulovka Hospital.

“Tick-borne encephalitis often takes place in two stages. After a short period of fever, for which we took paralen, the patient was better for a few days, but the symptoms reappeared a few days later. This is when the nervous system is really affected,” says Ms Smíšková, adding that the patient’s head hurts much more than in the first stage of the disease.

Vaccine protection

Unlike Lyme disease, which is treated with antibiotics, there is no cure for tick-borne encephalitis. According to the doctor, this can be partly explained by the fact that the development of such a drug is very difficult, long, and that there is a vaccine.

“We have a very effective vaccine. We have quite a good experience with vaccination,” Ms Smíšková said, adding that no significant side effects were observed apart from redness at the injection site or pain in the arm.

Although the vaccine is the only protection once morest the effects of tick-borne encephalitis, we lag behind countries with similar climates in terms of vaccination coverage. “We have regarding 38% of the population vaccinated. But I am talking regarding the percentage of the population that has received at least one dose, which unfortunately is not enough,” Ms Smíšková points out. Vaccination confers protection only following the second dose.

Did you know that vaccines for people over 50 are covered by insurance? Do you know how to properly remove a tick? And are the different repellents effective? Listen to the full interview with Dr. Smiseková at the beginning of the article.

Dive into the depths of Czech healthcare with editor-in-chief Kristýna Léblová and her guests. The podcast is published every Thursday on Novinky.cz, , or on the platform.

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