Where to go with a tick bite in St. Petersburg

In recent years, the number of cases of bites by encephalitis ticks of residents of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region is constantly growing. Therefore, information about where to pass the tick for analysis in St. Petersburg for free or how much it will cost will interest all residents and visitors who are planning to go to nature: to parks, cottages and garden plots.

Epidemiological situation in the city

According to the epidemiological service of St. Petersburg, in recent years tick activity and human infections with various infectious diseases tend to increase. According to statistics, the registration of cases of bites by St. Petersburg ticks begins in March and continues until October.

In 2016, 3350 people turned in, and in 2017, 3850 people turned to the Botkin hospital, of which 186 cases were detected borreliosis, 55 – tick-borne encephalitis.

In 2017, due to night frosts, ticks became active only in late April - early May. The number of victims in St. Petersburg was the highest during the May holidays. After all, it is precisely on these days that Petersburgers go to dachas and nature in large numbers to the Leningrad and Nizhny Novgorod regions. According to the clinical Botkin hospital, the maximum number of complaints of the population about tick bites occurred in 2016 in the first decade of May, in 2015 - in the second.

In 2018, by April 23, in Rospotrebnadzor, 51 people were registered who have tick bites, 10 of them are children, 7 cases in the city of St. Petersburg.

On a note!

According to statistics, the number of bitten citizens reaches more than 3 thousand, but many cases are not taken into account due to non-treatment of people who take out ticks on their own and do not go to doctors.

According to the observations of epidemiologists in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region in recent years, 3 species of ticks have been noted: ixodic, taiga and forestwhich have 2 activity peaks in May-June and July-August.

Ways of infection with viral encephalitis

In order to pick up a tick and become infected with a serious infection, it is not necessary to go far into the forest. There are other ways of infection:

• Visiting forest areas of St. Petersburg endemic to tick-borne viral encephalitis (CVE): forest parks, garden plots and forest tracts.
• Ticks can get into the house with pets coming from a walk (on the hair of dogs and cats) or people on clothes, with plants and flowers.
• Infection occurs more often when the tick is crushed, with a strong combing of the bitten place.
• A dangerous virus can be obtained by using raw goat's milk (including other animals: sheep, cows), therefore, in unfavorable areas, it must be boiled before use. Moreover, the virus can also be found in dairy products: cottage cheese, sour cream, etc.

Processing of the territory by special services

To prevent contact of the pathogen with people, acaricidal treatment of those territories in which a large number of ticks is possible is carried out every season. In 2016, 395 hectares were cultivated in St. Petersburg, including parks, squares, recreation areas, cemeteries, as well as the territory of 46 children's camps and other out-of-town health facilities in the Leningrad Region - a total of 245 hectares.

How to pass a tick for analysis in St. Petersburg

According to sanitary and epidemiological data, infection with various bacteria and encephalitis virus in ticks occurs only in 5-10% of cases. This means that the likelihood of a person becoming infected after being bitten is relatively small, and only an analysis can accurately show whether the tick is a vector. Therefore, it is not necessary for everyone bitten to take highly toxic drugs that have many side effects on the body.

On a note!

For accurate diagnosis of infection in the laboratory of St. Petersburg, a tick is analyzed for the 4 most dangerous infections: encephalitis, borreliosis (Lyme disease), ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis.

A serological polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique is used, which with high reliability identifies the presence of the virus in arthropod tissues. Also used is a test method for immunoglobulins M and G in a victim of a tick bite, for which a blood test is taken.

A tick analysis in a private laboratory in St. Petersburg will cost several times more. Therefore, it is recommended that you first go to the clinic to a therapist who will give a referral to a specific institution, then it will be cheaper.

Important!

Free analysis is possible only if you have the appropriate insurance, which should be taken care of in advance. Results will be ready in 2 days, but the speed depends on the workload of the laboratory.

If bitten by a tick in St. Petersburg: tips for extracting and shipping for analysis

If you find a "bloodsucker" that has stuck into your skin, you should immediately think about how to remove it faster, and better in a living state. Next, the tick must be taken with you and taken to the laboratory for analysis to check for possible virus infection.

When removing the tick, it is recommended to follow the tips:

1. The main rule is to try to extract it whole and not crush, so that the head does not remain inside.
2. Pull out the tick it is possible with the help of curved tweezers or an ordinary thread, in the loop of which a parasite is threaded, and then twisted from the epidermal tissues. Can be used special fixturesold in pharmacies.
3. Crushing the pest increases the risk of infection with saliva under the skin.
4. After removing the tick process the wound alcohol or iodine.
5. Arthropod put in a closed glass container, optimally - in a living form, next to place a piece of cotton soaked in water.
6. It is better to take a tick for analysis in St. Petersburg on the same day, but in the absence of such an opportunity, you need to know that the maximum period for obtaining a reliable result is 10 days.
7. Take the parasite for analysis to any public or private laboratory in St. Petersburg.

Where to check the tick for encephalitis in St. Petersburg

In state medical institutions where you can go with a test tube with extracted arthropod, the analysis is carried out for the presence of TBEV antigen and Borrelia DNA, the cost starts from 600 rubles.

All applicants should have with them:

1. Tick ​​for analysis
2. Passport
3. Medical policy insurance
4. SNILS (pension certificate).

Important!

Due to the tendency to increase the frequency of tick bites in the North-West region of Russia, the Ministry decided to expand the number of medical centers that can analyze parasites for the probability of infection with infectious diseases: encephalitis, borreliosis, etc.

Such laboratories include institutions and branches of the Labtest network, whose addresses can be found by calling: (812) 385-11-94. The cost of testing a tick in "Labtest" is 1000 rubles.

Outpatient clinics and city outpatient departments (GP), where they will help to remove ticks in St. Petersburg:

Tick-borne encephalitis vaccine: timing and effect

Care should be taken in advance to get vaccinated in St. Petersburg against a serious infectious disease, which is encephalitis. This is best done before the start of the season, in winter. This is due to the fact that it is done according to this scheme: 2 injections with a vaccine with an interval of 1 month. The duration of protection against the disease is 1 year. With subsequent revaccination, its effect increases to 3 years. You should be aware that primary vaccination only starts 2 weeks after the second injection.

Important!

For those who need an urgent vaccination in St. Petersburg, there is an emergency vaccination with an interval of 7-14 days. But the effect of the drug likewise begins 2 weeks after the 2nd injection. Encephalitis Vaccinations can be done in the clinic of St. Petersburg in your area or in commercial specialized medical centers.

Emergency prevention

Emergency encephalitis prevention is carried out within 96 hours after suction of the infected arthropod and is administered immunoglobulin. For its implementation, those who suffered from a tick bite in St. Petersburg should contact the following addresses:

• children - Children's Infectious Diseases Hospital №3, Bolshoi Prospect. B.O., 77/17;
• for adults - SPB GBUZ "Clinical Infectious Diseases Hospital named after S.P. Botkin ", st. Mirgorodskaya, 3.

Tick ​​treatment

Many residents of St. Petersburg go to personal plots and cottages every weekend or even for the entire summer season. But sometimes the territory of your own summer house can become a risk zone, especially during a period of strong tick activity. Therefore, sanitary and epidemiological stations and specialized firms suggest in such a situation to treat the site, including trees, shrubs and surfaces of buildings, with the help of strong chemicals: insecticide acoricides. Its cost depends on the area and remoteness of the object from the city. Can process the plot yourselfapplying effective acaricidal drugs. These include Tsifoks, Ram, Sinuzan and others.

Tick ​​extermination the following organizations carry out in the country house and garden plot:

This will help get rid of parasite bites, protect the whole family and pets who also live in the country, and avoid contracting infectious diseases, which are often transmitted by ticks.