Where to go for tick bites in St. Petersburg

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

Epidemiological situation in the city

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

In 2016, 3,350 people applied, and in 2017, 3,850 people applied to the Botkin Hospital, of which 186 cases of borreliosis were detected, 55 - tick-borne encephalitis.

In 2017, due to night frosts, ticks became more active only at the end of April - beginning of May. The number of victims in St. Petersburg was the maximum during the May holidays. After all, it is precisely these days that St. Petersburgers massively leave for their summer cottages, for nature, in the Leningrad and Nizhny Novgorod regions. According to the Clinical Botkin Hospital, the maximum number of complaints from the population about tick bites occurred in 2016.in the first decade of May, in 2015 - on the second.

In 2018, by April 23, 51 people were registered in Rospotrebnadzor with tick bites, including 10 children, in the city of St. Petersburg - 7 cases.

On a note!

According to statistics, the number of citizens bitten reaches more than 3 thousand, but many cases are not counted because of 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 types of ticks have been noted: ixodid, taiga and forest, which have 2 peaks of activity in May-June and July-August.

Ways of viral encephalitis infection

Tick ​​bite

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:

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

Territory treatment by special services

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

How to submit a tick for analysis in St. Petersburg

According to sanitary and epidemiological stations, infection with various bacteria and encephalitis virus in ticks is found only in 5-10% of cases. This means that the probability of a person being infected after bites is relatively small, and only an analysis can accurately show whether the tick is a carrier.Therefore, it is not necessary for every bite 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 a virus in the tissues of an arthropod. It also uses the method of testing immunoglobulins M and G in a tick victim by this tick, for which a blood test is taken.

Mite

Analysis of a tick in a non-state laboratory of St. Petersburg will cost several times more expensive. Therefore, it is recommended to first go to the clinic to the therapist who will give referral to a particular institution, then it will be cheaper.

Important!

Free analysis is possible only if there is adequate 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 you bit a tick in St. Petersburg: tips on extraction and delivery for analysis

When a “bloodsucker” stuck into the skin is found on your body, you should immediately think about how to remove it faster, and better in a live state. Next, the tick should be taken with you and taken to the laboratory for analysis to check for probable virus infection.

When extracting a tick, it is recommended to follow the tips:

1. The main rule is to try to extract it completely and not crush it so that the head does not remain inside.
2. The tick can be pulled out using a curved forceps or a regular thread, in which the parasite is threaded into the loop, and then unscrewed from the tissues of the epidermis.
3. Crushing a pest increases the risk of infection with saliva under the skin.
4. After removing the tick, the wound should be treated with alcohol or iodine.
5. Arthropod put in a closed glass container, optimally in a living form, next to place a piece of cotton wool soaked in water.
6. It is better to carry a tick for analysis in St. Petersburg on the same day, but in the absence of such an opportunity one should know that the maximum period for obtaining a reliable result is 10 days.
7. Take the parasite for analysis to any state or private laboratory in St. Petersburg.

Where to check tick encephalitis in St. Petersburg

Tick ​​check for encephalitis

In public medical institutions, where you can go with a test tube with an 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. Ticks for analysis
2. Passport
3. Policy honey. of insurance
4. SNILS (pension certificate).

Important!

Because of 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 likelihood of contracting infectious diseases: encephalitis, borreliosis, etc.

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

Tick ​​removal

Outpatient clinics and city outpatient departments (GP), where they can help pull out a tick in St. Petersburg:

Vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis: timing and effect

Vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis

Care should be taken to get vaccinated in St. Petersburg from severe infectious disease, which is encephalitis, should be in advance. It is best to do this before the season begins, in winter. This is due to the fact that it is done according to the following scheme: 2 shots with a vaccine with an interval of 1 month. The duration of protection from the disease is 1 year. With subsequent revaccination, its action increases to 3 years. You should know that the primary vaccination begins to act only 2 weeks after the second injection.

Important!

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

Emergency prevention

Emergency prophylaxis of encephalitis is carried out within 96 hours after sucking an infected arthropod. For its implementation to those who suffered from the tick bite in St. Petersburg, you need to contact the following addresses:

• Children - Children's Infectious Diseases Hospital №3, Bolshoy Prospect. V.O., 77/17;
• for adults - SPB GBUZ Clinical Infectious Diseases Hospital named after SP Botkin ", st. Mirgorodskaya, 3.

Mite area treatment

Many St. Petersburg residents travel to household plots and villas every weekend or even for the entire summer season. But sometimes the territory of their own summer cottage can become a risk zone, especially in a period of strong tick activity. Therefore, sanitary and epidemiological stations and specialized companies offer to treat the site, including trees, shrubs and building surfaces, with the help of strong chemicals: perteroid insectoacaricides. Its cost depends on the area and distance of the object from the city.

The destruction of ticks on the territory of the dacha and the garden plot is carried out by the following organizations:

This will help get rid of parasite bites, protect the entire family and pets, who also live in the country, and to avoid the disease of infectious diseases, which are often ticks.