The striped-legged tick was observed for the first time in several departments in the south of France. She can carry Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, a life-threatening disease.
Gone are the days when you could frolic carefree in the forest. Ticks scare each year a little more. For some time now, we have been hearing more about Lyme disease, mainly transmitted by ticks. Ixodes Ricinus. Today, a new tick threatens the French, especially those who plan to spend their holidays in the south of the country. It is hyalomma marginatum, commonly known as the striped-legged tick and sometimes a carrier of the potentially fatal Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever. If the insect had already been present in Corsica for decades, it is now arriving on the continent, warns the Center for International Cooperation in Agricultural Research for Development (CIRAD) from Montpellier (Hérault).
According to CIRAD, the insect, which likes aridity, has been seen in the Pyrénées-Orientales, Aude, Hérault, Gard, Bouches-du-Rhône, Var and southern France. ‘Ardeche. It is not yet known why the insect established itself in these regions. He could have arrived on board a migratory bird or Spanish horses, says CIRAD.
This peanut, which can measure up to 8mm in adulthood, has a particular appetite for horses. But if she comes across a human by chance, she will unfortunately not hesitate to bite him. If not removed immediately, the sting can sometimes cause irritation that will persist for a few days. But the danger therefore concerns above all the virus at the origin of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF), Nairovirusof which hyalomma marginatum sometimes carries.
A fatality rate ranging from 10 to 40%
“The incubation period is usually 3 to 7 days from exposure to an infected animal, and 1 to 3 days from a tick bite”, explains the Orphanet website. The disease is then manifested by outbreaks of severe viral hemorrhagic fever, headache, sometimes malaise and gastrointestinal symptoms (diarrhea, nausea, vomiting), and in some cases, by a rash. Severe cases develop bleeding (bruising, subconjunctival and gastrointestinal hemorrhage), neurological involvement (disorientation, seizures, coma), shock and multi-organ failure. The fatality rate ranges from 10 to 40%.
“Although positive serologies have recently been reported in cattle in Corsica, this virus has never yet been detected in France. On the other hand, it is widespread in Africa, Asia and the Middle East and in Turkey where it has recently caused an epidemic. In Europe, it is present in Crimea, Romania and the Balkans, from Greece to Albania. He recently appeared in Spain”explains CIRAD.
To avoid tragedies, he therefore advises, after a walk in nature, to observe yourself all over your body to detect a possible tick. If a tick is attached to you, whatever its species, remove it as soon as possible. To do this, the “better is to use a tick tweezer (tick puller)”. Finally, to advance research on ticks and the diseases they sometimes carry, CIRAD recommends that you report your bite on “citique.fr (a participatory research program where citizens can help research into ticks and the diseases they carry) or through the associated smartphone app.”
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