Entomologist tells which regions are most likely to suffer from Lyme borreliosis and tick-borne encephalitis

Photo Pixabay April 3, MINSK . Residents of which regions of Belarus most often suffer from Lyme borreliosis and tick-borne encephalitis, said Svetlana Yashkova, an entomologist at the Republican Center for Hygiene, Epidemiology and Public HEALTH, at the "Tick Activity Season: Prevention and Treatment of Tick-borne Infections in People and Pets" event at the BELTA press center.

On average, more than 2,000 cases of Lyme disease and more than 200 cases of tick-borne encephalitis are registered in the republic every year. "The incidence of Lyme borreliosis is registered practically throughout the country and is distributed with a greater share of participation of residents of the Brest, Grodno, Minsk and Mogilev regions. And tick-borne encephalitis most often affects the population of the Grodno and Brest regions. These two regions account for about 62% of all cases of tick-borne encephalitis," said Svetlana Yashkova.

She recalled that tick-borne encephalitis and Lyme disease pathogens are transmitted to humans mainly through the attachment of ixodid ticks. And one can also become infected with tick-borne encephalitis by drinking raw MILK from goats, whose milk may contain the virus during periods of mass tick attacks . According to the entomologist, due to ongoing climate change towards warming, the range of ixodid ticks is rapidly moving north. Their numbers in natural biocenoses are growing, and the duration of the activity period is increasing. Today, ticks are active for 10 months - from February to November. Therefore, from late winter to late autumn, the possibility of human infection with tick-borne infections cannot be ruled out. Belarusian scientists have established that ticks are carriers of nine infectious agents, such as tick-borne encephalitis, Lyme borreliosis, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, Q fever, rickettsiosis, etc. However, only two diseases are registered in Belarus annually: Lyme borreliosis and tick-borne viral encephalitis.