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Live research was missing
The National Center for Public Health, which has been educating the public about the dangers of ticks due to communicable diseases for many years, admits that these creatures were actually studied in Lithuania only before 2000.
It has now become clear that state authorities know nothing about the true tick infestation.
“After receiving a letter from specialists that 61 mites were found in the Giruliai forest, I tried to explain the real threat to park visitors. The regional coastal park borders the Giruliai forest. The responses from officials surprised me. I’m a biologist I wonder why nobody in the country is exploring these creatures – Erlandas Paplauskis, an ecologist at the Seaside Regional Park Directorate, asked questions.
The Park Authority staff decided to act honestly and made all the information received from the Public Health Center available online.
Shapes: The tick-on-tick tables that appeared in Klaipėda’s representative flower garden some time ago caused laughter. Specialists from the Klaipėda City Public Health Office, who are diligently collecting, went into the flower gardens, where no one was looking for ticks. (Photo by Vytautas Liaudanskis)
“I tried to figure out the problem. I was very surprised by the information that it seemed that an attempt was made to explain the tick infestation three years ago. Lyme disease was studied. And what is the incidence of encephalitis? However, there were no cold winters , the tick population had to change dramatically and I still have suspicions about its infestation. If threats are already being announced, the situation needs to be monitored, but now it has become clear that public authorities “I don’t know anything about the real tick infestation . It is time to inform the public about it, “said E. Paplauskis.
See a marked increase in numbers
If ticks currently collected in coastal forests are spreading an infection, experts admitted they didn’t even know it.
Erlandas Paplauskis / Photo by Vytautas Liaudanskis
“And I don’t know because they haven’t been studied. It’s just part of the job. Because we control the dynamics of tick abundance, such studies are done. The number of ticks is studied by collecting live animals within a kilometer. It is done from early spring to late fall before they’re active. ” “You observe the abundance of ticks and the stages of their development: how many nymphs are there, how many adults are there, perhaps larvae,” explained Milda Žygutienė, a specialist in the Division of Infectious Disease Management at the National Center for Public Health.
Lithuania is endemic from border to border. The virus circulates everywhere. There are no clean places.
In the Giruliai forest, ticks have been monitored since around 1980.
“There were significantly fewer ticks around the 1990s. There are now 61 ticks per kilometer, and that’s an impressive number. What does it mean? Just because we find a tick every sixteen meters. That means we can meet the tick every sixteen steps “, he assured. M.Žygutienė.
Money: M.Žygutienė, a specialist in the Communicable Disease Management Division of the National Center for Public Health, admitted that the tick investigation has not been carried out in Lithuania since 2000, because there are no funds for it. (Editorial Stock Photo)
Does that meeting really pose a threat to man if it is unclear if these creatures are infected?
“If there was no threat, we would not talk about it. Lithuania has the highest morbidity rate in Europe. Last year there were 711 people, six of whom died. The last case was a total shock. Last year the man was infested with 21 ticks and did not contract any disease. ” five ticks, and one was fatal. Mushroom and berry man, spent a lot of time in the woods, “- M. Žygutienė recalled the tragic case just recorded.
Research only for money
The specialist recognized that the infectivity of ticks had been studied until the beginning of this century.
“After the reforms, the laboratory no longer examines them. Our center no longer has its own laboratory. And the national laboratory can test some ticks for free, but all other tests are done only for money,” admitted M. Žygutienė.
When it became clear that public institutions did not have money for the well-being of the population, funds for such research were sought in the pockets of the municipalities.
“Generally, it was all like this: projects are signed with municipalities, municipalities allocate funds, and therefore examine ticks. People can also test individually. For money. But there really is no universal study because There are no funds, “said the specialist.
There are 49 cases of encephalitis on the coast
2019 49 cases of tick-borne encephalitis and 204 cases of Lyme disease were reported in Klaipėda County.
Specialists monitor the tick infestation situation only based on population morbidity indicators.
Generally speaking, if a person carrying a tick in a forest becomes ill, specialists from the National Center for Public Health mark in their fact sheets that the forest may pose a risk to humans.
“We know the places where people become infected. The coast is the least infected region, because there are the least number of sick people there,” said specialist M. Žygutienė.
However, the question arises as to whether the goal is to address tick-borne diseases due to human morbidity.
“We represent people, not ticks. It is still information. We cannot prohibit people from going to the forest and we cannot point out certain forests that could endanger. Then we will receive lawsuits if someone becomes ill, and they will tell us that there is insurance, “persuaded M. Žygutienė.
The specialist explained that there is not a single forest in the country where it is safe to walk, ticks that can become infected can occur anywhere.
“Lithuania is endemic from border to border. We know that the virus circulates everywhere. There are no clean places,” said the specialist.
Does the percentage not matter?
M.Žygutienė did not want to admit that the fight against ticks in Lithuania is reminiscent of imitation work.
“You can’t say nothing was done. Well, they haven’t been studied, it’s true. The tick-borne encephalitis virus is sustainable over time and territory. If so, it circulates. The source of the infection and their reservoir are small rodents. And they do not leave their territories. ” However, birds, deer, mites feed on the infection for a week, deer and ticks can reach another part of the forest in a few hours, but it is not true that the situation is out of control because the ticks are not tested. “It is no longer so important. In Europe, it is estimated that there is one percent of infected ticks. It is considered that there is also a percentage in Lithuania. This was determined when we were still investigating ticks,” said M. Žygutienė.
M.Žygutienė assured that one in a hundred mites can suffer from tick-borne encephalitis, and Lyme disease can affect 20 percent. populations of these creatures.
“However, in one district, in different forests, up to 30–34% of ticks may be sick. Therefore, there is no point in selecting one area or another and intimidating people into not going to the forest. No we studied there. And it is impossible to investigate everything, “explained M. Žygutienė.
Do specialists dedicate themselves to the prevention of communicable diseases like the other extreme and learn about infections only by examining the remains of dead people?
After hearing that question, M. Žygutienė was angry.
“Somehow you are asking the wrong question. Well, yes, this is how surveillance is done. Every infected person is interviewed. Deaths are analyzed. But first we must avoid tick infestation, let’s start with that. On the contrary, will we have to ban forests in Lithuania, therefore we know that there is no single area where tick-borne encephalitis or the pathogens of Lyme disease are not found, “said M. Žygutienė.
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