A study from Public Health France indicates that general practitioners diagnosed Lyme disease more in 2016 than in previous years.
While the incidence of cases of Lyme disease seen in general practice remained stable from 2009 to 2015, it increased significantly in 2016.
84 cases declared per 100,000 inhabitants
According to weekly epidemiological bulletin (BEH) published on Tuesday, June 19, the estimated annual incidence of Lyme disease cases seen in general medicine consultation remained between 41 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2011 and 55 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2013. She then presented a significant increase in 2016, with 84 cases reported per 100,000 inhabitants. “It will be important to see if this higher incidence in 2016 is confirmed in the following years”, note the authors.
Significant geographic heterogeneities were also observed, with higher incidence rates in Limousin, Alsace and Rhône-Alpes. The age of the cases showed a peak between 60 and 70 years. Among the cases reported by general practitioners, 95% presented with erythema migrans, this reddish spot that slowly grows around the point of a tick bite.
Lyme borreliosis and other tick-borne diseases / BEH n ° 19-20, June 19, 2018 #Lymehttps://t.co/BhNnsdfKQz
– EHESP-library (@EHESP_biblio) June 19, 2018
Global warming
Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in North America and temperate countries in Europe and Asia. As in France, an increase in its incidence has been observed in certain European countries, in particular because of global warming.
Recalling this constant increase in the number of cases is important since we are precisely at the period of maximum activity of these parasites. They are found en masse in wooded and humid areas, tall grass in prairies, gardens, forest or urban parks, or even on animals (domestic or wild). “Human contaminations are more frequent during the period of maximum tick activity, in France between the beginning of spring and the end of autumn,” warns the Ministry of Health.
No Lyme disease vaccine
Ticks are not naturally infected, but become infected by feeding on the blood of infected wildlife. They don’t move far on their own either. However, the spread of ticks by various vectors (rodents, migratory birds, domestic animals) makes it possible to be bitten outside woods and natural spaces. For example, they can stick to migrating birds and fall far from their original location.
In the absence of a vaccine against Lyme disease, experts point out that the only way to protect yourself from this infection is to wear long clothes and to inspect your skin well after a walk in the forest or in the fields.
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection, caused by bacteria of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato group, transmitted to humans through a tick bite. In most cases, this pathology is manifested by erythema migrans. However, the pathogens that cause infection can spread to other tissues and organs, manifesting as skin, joint, neurological, or cardiac manifestations.
For more information, you can also consult:
The website of the Ministry of Health
http://www.sante.gouv.fr/maladie-de-lyme.html
The website of the France Lyme association
http://francelyme.fr/
.
