The increase in ticks in Spain: symptoms and how to avoid their bites

The high summer temperatures have brought with them ticks, an arthropod capable of transmitting more than 50 different diseases with its bite..

These are parasites that reside in a large number of wild and domestic animals, feed on the blood of their hosts and are much more dangerous for humans than is believed, since, according to Fernando de la Calle, a specialist in the Unit of Imported Pathology and International Health of the La Paz Hospital, “the number of people who come to the hospital for this cause is increasing.”

In Spain, with six species of ticks registered by the European Center for Disease Control, the most important diseases for human health are mainly bacterial, such as Lyme disease, button fever, anaplasmosis or tularemia, and parasitic, like babesiosis.

To the list must be added viral diseases, such as encephalitis and hemorrhagic fever caused by the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, which has a mortality rate of 30% without treatment.

Doctor De la Calle has warned that “in recent years” an increase in consultations for tick bites has been detected.. “Now we are in a strong period, after atypical years due to the pandemic and with the recovery of mobility,” explained the specialist.

Specifically, he explained that mainly people go to the consultation for “complications of local infection by bites”. Fundamentally, he has detailed, these are cases of rickettsiosis, Lyme disease and, to a lesser extent, babesiosis and anaplasmosis.

AWARENESS BEFORE THE ALARM

In this sense, the epidemiologist misses “awareness” in the face of “alarm signs” that point to a possible tick bite. All this, he emphasized, seeking “the balance between being informed without being alarmed.”

“You don't have to go crazy, but you do have to be attentive to the symptoms and complications and, if serious, go to specialized units,” he argued.

As a general rule, the parasite takes between 24 and 48 hours to start feeding on the blood, so until then, the risk of transmitting the infection is lower, hence the importance of removing it as soon as possible.

To do this, it is recommended to use tweezers or remove them with your fingers with thin gloves, trying to avoid crushing them or using natural remedies such as oil or alcohol.. The result is, many times, the permanence of part of the oral apparatus in the skin and the formation of a permanent granuloma.. For this reason, the extraction must be slow and meticulous, holding the tick from the head and gently pulling it upwards.

“People tend to remove the tick and little else,” explains the expert, who asks to remain “vigilant, without obsession” for 10 or 14 days when faced with symptoms such as fever or the appearance of a skin rash. Also, in the event of atypical signs on the skin such as a black scab that does not heal or complications such as bleeding gums or bruises.

In this sense, he has highlighted the importance of providing the doctor with as much information as possible so that he can help him relate the symptoms to a tick bite.. This is the case of Rosana Toribio, who was diagnosed with Lyme disease after being labeled “crazy” at first “for going to the ER for a mosquito bite.”

The young woman from Madrid began to feel unwell a few days after taking a route in Tenerife through a ravine “that was super dry”. “When I returned to Madrid I began to feel bad. After three or four days I had a fever, a general malaise, I felt terrible. I had a mosquito bite at first and I didn't give it any importance,” he said.

However, Rosana, a pharmacist by training, decided to go to a hospital, alarmed by the characteristics of the red halo that appeared around the bite.. “At first they labeled me crazy when I went to the ER for a mosquito bite when it surely had nothing to do with the discomfort I felt,” she commented with a laugh.

Fortunately, she reported, the nurse called a doctor who, as soon as she observed the characteristics of the bite, suspected its possible relationship with Lyme disease, a bacterial infection that if not treated immediately can cause multiple health problems. .

Without adequate treatment, Lyme disease becomes chronic, seriously affecting the development of a normal life through acute neurological, cardiac and/or articular manifestations.. In this sense, Rosana is fortunate that this physician related her case to a tick bite.

“After time the sting disappears, the halo disappears, and you no longer relate anything to that route in Tenerife and that sting, which could have taken place several months ago,” he warns.

Crimean-congo fever

In Spain, in addition to Lyme disease, one of the most frequent diseases caused by tick bites is boutonnouse fever, which begins with sudden fever, photophobia, joint pain, myalgia and malaise and can evolve into severe forms and lead to hepatitis, meningoencephalitis or renal failure.

One of the most serious consequences may also be Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCF), with 12 reported cases and four deaths in Spain since 2013.

In September 2016, the first human case was diagnosed in the Community, associated with contact with a tick in the province of Ávila, and a second case in a health professional who treated him.. The case detected in Madrid was the first in Western Europe with an autochthonous character, not imported from another geographical area.

Although more rarely, the tick can also cause paralysis of the host by inoculating a neurotoxin.. It generally affects children under 10 years of age and can cause death from respiratory paralysis.

HOW TO AVOID TICKS

To avoid these situations, it is advisable that when you go out into the field you wear appropriate clothing, with long sleeves and pants, and wear closed boots and socks. It is also recommended to wear light-colored clothing, which allows you to easily check if any of these arachnids are camouflaged.

On walks through the natural environment, it is recommended to travel through the central area of the paths, avoiding, as far as possible, contact with the vegetation on the sides.. Special care is required in areas with high soil humidity, that is, areas close to watercourses or flooded areas, with the possible presence of livestock.

In addition, it is advisable to avoid sitting on the ground in areas with a lot of vegetation, use authorized repellents and protect pets with a deworming product.. In the event that it is necessary to handle a domestic animal to clean it, it must be done with gloves.

At the end of the day in the countryside, it is also advisable to examine the whole body and wash the clothes used with hot water. It is important to pay special attention to the armpits, groin, hair, navel and around the waist.