In Europe, 1 million people are said to suffer from Lyme disease: this pathology transmitted by tick bites (which is rather called “polymorphic persistent syndrome after possible tick bite” in medical language) is characterized by very diverse symptoms – fatigue, mood disorders, sleep disorders, pain…
But according to a study published this Wednesday, May 29, 2019 in the New England Journal of Medicine, the tick could also be the cause of another disease, recently discovered in China. The virus (which has been dubbed Alongshan, after the town where it was first identified) causes fever, headache, fatigue and eventually nausea, rash and blackouts .
It was thanks to a farmer in the city of Alongshan that the virus could be discovered: the man (aged 42) went to the hospital in April 2017 with fever, headache and nausea – he also explained to the doctors that he had been bitten by a tick. The medical staff first thought of tick-borne meningoencephalitis, a pathology also transmitted by the animal, but the tests turned out to be negative.
A new virus identified in an Asian tick
The doctors then analyzed several blood samples from the patients at the hospital: they found that out of a total of 374 patients in the space of 5 months, 86 had been infected with the Alongshan virus – mainly farmers and laborers. in contact with the forest.
At the same time, work was carried out to identify the origin of the virus… which was detected in a particular tick, the Ixodes persulcatus – also called “taiga tick” – which is found mainly in Europe from the East (Russia, Finland, Baltic countries…) and in Asia. The virus has also been found in some mosquitoes.
To protect yourself against Lyme disease, it is important to adopt a few preventive measures: before an outing in nature, put on long clothes, closed shoes and a hat, without forgetting to take tick repellent and a tick remover.
During the outing, avoid sitting directly on the ground and do not walk in tall grass. After discharge, it is necessary to carefully inspect yourself for ticks. Warning: the bite is painless and some ticks are very small!
Read also :
- Report ticks: the app to send your photos of ticks to researchers
- Lyme disease plan: where are we?
- Testimonial: I came back from the hell of Lyme disease
- 4 natural remedies for Lyme disease
