Researchers from the Latvian Infectology Centre have found that about half of the ticks in Latvia carry Lyme disease.
As the entomologist tells it Voldemars Spungisticks are everywhere, but there are regions where there are fewer of them – for example, in pine forests there are fewer large animals, therefore there are fewer ticks, while in deciduous forests there are many more.
“In Zemgale, for example, there are fewer ticks because there are a lot of agricultural areas there. There are also safe biotopes where people can walk and not be afraid of ticks, for example, dry meadows, dunes, fields, the city“, – says the expert.
Particular caution should be taken on hot days when ticks are more active.
“Ticks have a wait-and-see “hunting” tactic: they sit in the grass and wait for an object to pass by. They themselves cannot run after it. The probability that someone will pass by is quite small, and the tick remains hungry. Small ticks die, but large ones can starve longer“, – says Spungis.
Every year in Latvia, about 300 people are hospitalized with tick-borne diseases, but some do not even suspect that they are infected.
The latest data from the Latvian Infectology Centre show that of the 91 ticks tested for Lyme disease, 30 or 33% were infected, while of the 87 ticks tested for tick-borne encephalitis, none were infected.
Overall, the researchers concluded that approximately one in 20 ticks in Latvia carries encephalitis, and about 50% carry Lyme disease.
Source: www.gorod.lv
