A treacherous disease can be contracted in the blossoming meadows of the city: Vilnius initially thought it was just a simple eruption

Where you caught the mite – don’t know

Rima Kašiubaitienė from Vilnius became ill with Lyme disease last summer. The woman said she spends every summer in her garden in Antavili, so she can only guess where the mite bit her. After finding a pimple on his thigh, he later saw its rash. Doctors confirmed the diagnosis: Lyme disease.

“I feel good”, the conversation with Delphi started by R. Kašiubaitienė from Vilnius.

“There were no special symptoms, there was a tic on the thigh, it looked like a pimple, maybe an abscess, the top looked like this.” I accidentally ripped it off somehow. The wound started to turn red, I thought maybe the infection, but that circle of redness was widening and expanding. And I realized that it was already Lyme disease. I went to the polyclinic, I checked, the blood tests showed it: Lyme disease, “said the woman.

“I don’t know where I caught that tick, I didn’t even see it. I think I was bitten in my garden, near Antavilis, or in the forest, here perhaps somewhere in the meadow”, – Delphi R. Kašiubaitienė said. She said she did not walk behind the tall grass, nor did she go to the forest.

After research showing Lyme disease, the woman quickly overcame the disease. The woman had been vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis.

“I have been vaccinated, but it does not help from Laima, from encephalitis, but I would still get it,” said R. Kašiubaitienė.

When asked how he is protecting this season, the woman jokes that she is not going anywhere.

“I walk through the garden and so on,” he laughed.

“I recommend everyone get vaccinated. And the grass should also be cut very densely,” Delphi Vilnius, who had overcome Lyme disease, shared his advice.

The most dangerous places in the country

In April this year, the Center for Communicable Diseases and AIDS (ULAC) announced 166 cases of Lyme disease were recorded in the first quarter of this year, accounting for 66 percent. more than last year in the same period in which 100 cases were diagnosed.

Already this year, cases of Lyme disease have been recorded in all counties in Lithuania.

The highest morbidity rate occurred in Tauragė counties (13.1 cases / 100,000 population), Utena (8.8 cases / 100,000 population), Telšiai (8.4 cases / 100,000 population).

According to ULAC epidemiologist Aušra Bartulienė, cases of Lyme disease are recorded throughout the year. However, for example, last year the highest seasonal increase in morbidity was recorded in July-October (during this period, Lyme disease occurred in 71.5% of all patients).

According to epidemiologist A. Bartulienė, Lyme disease or borreliosis is a chronic, natural, tick-borne, infectious disease that affects not only the skin, internal organs, joints, but also the nervous system.

The most common symptom is a skin rash (wandering erythema) at the sting site or other area 1 to 4 weeks after the tick is swallowed. The eruption is more than 3 cm in diameter and spreads even further. One in five people may not have a rash. The patient may have headaches, muscles, joints, fever, dizziness.

If the disease is not diagnosed in the early stages of the disease and the patient does not receive treatment, serious neurological complications, heart and joint damage can develop. Joint pathology in Lyme disease is reminiscent of rheumatoid arthritis. There is no vaccine against this disease, immunity does not develop after the disease, there is a possibility of reinfection.

The risk of this disease is directly related to the abundance of ticks and the possibility of contact with them, especially when spending free time in nature.

It is enough to cut the grass

The ULAC medical recommendation to adversely affect the life of ticks should be implemented normally.

In February at Delfi Diena’s show, ULAC medical entomologist Milda Žygutienė discussed that tick-borne diseases could be prevented for a very simple reason: more frequent mowing of grass in public places in the city.

“If we didn’t allow grass to grow more than 10 centimeters in the spring, there really would be nothing for ticks to do there because they are sensitive to drought, they need moisture, like all arthropods and bloodsuckers.” They are always looking for places where they can retain available moisture because, as you know, the mite does not drink water, it only sucks blood.

So such conditions would be very unsuitable for them, as the topsoil would be sweaty from the sun, the wind would blow, and the mite would have an unsuitable environment: it would die or move elsewhere. In this way, city parks could also be maintained. By the way, it is not necessary to comb the entire park or forest, but at least where people mainly visit and walk, ”said M. Žygutienė at the time.

Threatening bugs

Delphi He decided to find out how the capital protects the population from ticks.

According to Vilnius Deputy Mayor Valdas Benkunskas, the capital is taking all necessary measures. This season, however, he was surprised by the decision to leave some of the spaces used by residents uncut.

According to the politician, medical institutions are also doing their job well, recommending vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis.

“The main recommendation from what the doctors are saying is that we recommend that the public do it as a vaccine against tick-borne encephalitis.” Our polyclinics are really active in providing all the information, they are very encouraging to get vaccinated, “he said.

V. Benkunskas stated that employees of municipal companies working in the open field can also be vaccinated free of charge.

“Companies like Grinda, Šilumos tinklai, Vilniaus vandenys and their employees work outdoors,” he said.

Some mistakes made by the Vilnius city municipality administration caused questions to the Vilna deputy mayor.

“And the main thing is to prevent these diseases: cut the culture.” This year we saw some errors in the city court policy. We will definitely urge the administration next year to stop experimenting and start mowing in the parks, areas and common areas of the city as it should be. This would help reduce the potential risk of infection, ”said Vilna Deputy Mayor V. Benkunskas in Delfi.

When asked to name specific errors by the administration of the Vilnius city municipality, the deputy mayor stated that he noted that some areas of the city pose a risk to the health of the population.

“Here, of course, it is a matter of taste: whether the natural meadow is beautiful and justified. But, otherwise, all the green areas of the city must be orderly and not present a health risk. These unmowed areas They really can only be where people don’t walk: roadsides, slopes. But in the old people of the territory, where there are naturally formed meadows, they must be cut, “explained the Deputy Mayor of Vilnius.

“We will definitely urge that the contracts that are now concluded with the contractors by the municipality are properly fulfilled, so that the height of the grass is such that it does not threaten the formation of a large population of ticks,” said Deputy Mayor V. Benkunskas.

recommendations

To prevent infection, ULAC doctors recommend:

1. wear suitable clothing; When entering the forest, you should wear light clothing: outer clothing should have long sleeves with cuffs that fit snugly around the wrist; Pants pants must also be snug against the body, i. tucked into socks or boots. It is advisable to tie the head with a scarf or put on a steam hat, a hood;

2. use repellents (tick repellents); repellents prepare open areas of the human body (face, neck, hands) and wear clothing in nature;

3. Upon returning from nature (forest), a good inspection of the body, used clothes should be hung in a non-residential room or in a sunny place (ticks die quickly in dry air);

4. create unfavorable conditions for the life and development of ticks; Proper cleaning and maintenance of parks and forests is essential: sanitary deforestation, destruction of worthless shrubs, cutting grass from early spring and removal of plant debris, this method is particularly applicable to urban parks, recreation areas, camps , camps, motels, and other recreational areas.