2024-07-31 22:00:00
French tick season runs from March to November. These ticks are found mainly in fairly humid areas such as forests, but also in fields, meadows and gardens, and are important vectors of pathogens (bacteria, viruses, parasites) that cause infectious diseases in humans and animals.
Tick-borne diseases may be caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites. They are transmitted when ticks feed on the blood of the animal or human to which they have attached themselves. Ticks can become infected by absorbing pathogens from an infected host. When they take a blood meal again, they can spread these pathogens again. As “vectors”, ticks mainly transmit these pathogens through their saliva when biting, making them the main vector for the spread of animal and human diseases.
Main diseases associated with ticks
Lyme borreliosis
In France, ticks transmit the most common human diseases Ixodes ricinus It’s Lyme borreliosis (or Lyme disease). It is caused by bacteria of the genus Borrelia burgdorferiall over France.
2023, Nearly 39,000 cases diagnosed in general practice, that is, 59 cases per 100,000 residents. Large regional differences were observed, with cases more frequent in the east and center (Alsace, Lorraine, Limousin, etc.) than in the west and south of the Mediterranean.
tick-borne encephalitis
Tick-borne encephalitis is an infection that affects the central nervous system, leading to neurological sequelae that last for years in 40% of cases. The virus is transmitted to humans through tick bites. Ixodes ricinus In wooded and moist areas. More rarely, contamination may occur through the consumption of raw milk or raw milk cheese from animals that are themselves contaminated (mainly goats or sheep).
The eastern and Auvergne Rhone Alpine regions were particularly affected. Haute-Savoie has reported the highest number of cases in the past two years, although it was later than Alsace to recognize the spread of the virus. The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region is also an important area for the spread of the virus, and neighboring departments in the south and west need to be more vigilant due to the risk of expanding the spread of the virus.
In 2023, a total of 39 cases of tick-borne encephalitis virus infection were reported through mandatory reporting to French public health authorities.
Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever
Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is an infection caused by a tick-borne virus (Crimean-Congo fever virus) hyaline or through fresh blood of infected and viremic animals or body fluids of humans. The disease is characterized by fever, chills, digestive disturbances and, in rare cases, a hemorrhagic disorder in which uncontrolled bleeding can lead to death. CCHF is endemic in certain countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, and a few indigenous cases have been diagnosed in Spain over the past decade.
No human cases have been diagnosed in France so far. However, there may be a risk of contamination in the area due to ticks hyaline Cases of Crimean-Congo fever virus infection have been detected in several provinces in southern France.
Presence map of native Hyalomma marginatum ticks in France
Protect yourself from tick bites to prevent the risk of infection
Ticks are difficult to detect due to their small size. Follow some tips to protect yourself from bites when walking in forests, meadows or while gardening:
Wear long clothing that covers your arms and legs, wear a hat and tuck your trousers into your socks; stay on the trail and avoid bushes, ferns and tall grass; use skin repellent.
When returning home after a walk or gardening in the forest/meadow, it is recommended to:
Check yourself and carefully examine your entire body; if bitten, remove the tick as quickly as possible using a tick remover or fine tweezers.
Provide leaflets and prevention documents to health professionals and the public to increase understanding of tick-borne diseases. We have also produced documents for children to teach them from an early age how to prevent tick bites.
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Tick-related disease surveillance
In France, surveillance of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever and tick-borne encephalitis is based on clinical, virological and epidemiological data through mandatory reporting. For certain diseases, known as “notifiable diseases,” mandatory reporting involves gathering as much detailed case information as possible from biologists and doctors.
Lyme borreliosis is not a notifiable disease. However, French public health authorities coordinate the surveillance of the disease in the region and rely on multiple partners, in particular the Sentinelles network and National Reference Center Borrelia burgdorferi. Annual surveillance data are based on cases diagnosed in general practices and hospitals; these data make it possible to describe different forms of the disease and surveillance trends.
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