Tick ​​encephalitic symptoms in humans. Signs, prevention and treatment of tick-borne encephalitis. Tick-borne encephalitis of the European subtype

The first 2 diseases (tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis) are the most common, the rest are diagnosed much less frequently. Some ticks can be carriers of several infections at once, and, as a result, infect a person with several diseases at once.

How does a tick bite

Female ticks can stay on the skin from several hours to a week, while males are able to stick for a short time, making small bites. Therefore, for example, if a person saw on his skin a tick that was not attached, but simply crawling, it is likely that the tick still inflicted a bite.

Where and when are you most likely to get a tick bite?

The greatest danger of contracting a serious disease from a tick bite is people living in endemic areas for diseases, as well as those who visit these areas during a special period - from May to mid-June and from late August to late September.

But the danger of being attacked by ticks persists throughout the warm season when visiting almost any forest areas, parks and other areas where there is grass and shady shelters. You can even get a tick bite in your country house or in the adjacent territory of your private house, if the grass is not mowed there.

Maximum number of bites from infected ticks
registered annually in Siberia, the Urals and the Volga region. However, a considerable number of those bitten annually seek medical help in almost all regions of Russia, including the Crimea and the Caucasus.

What parts of the body do ticks mostly bite?

Ticks are localized in the grass mainly at a height of 30 cm, and cling to the legs of those who pass by. Most often, they accumulate on the grass along the paths, smelling the people passing here. Sometimes they climb shrubs and lower branches of trees.

Once on the human body, the tick begins to look for places with thin skin, which is easier to bite through, so most often it sticks in the area:

• groin,
• abdomen and lower back,
• armpits
• chest,
• ears and neck,
• scalp.

If a tick bite is suspected and for prevention purposes, it is these places that should be most carefully examined after visiting the forest and park.

What does a tick bite look like?

Signs of a tick bite in humans are sometimes limited to only a small reddish spot and swelling in the wound area, and after a few days the skin takes on a normal appearance. Under the influence of saliva and microtrauma, which the tick inflicts with its mouth apparatus, a slight inflammation and a local allergic reaction occur on the skin. There is no pain, but in some cases a slight itching may be present.

Seeking a doctor is necessary in any case, even if there are no negative reactions from the body. The course of the first stages of dangerous diseases is sometimes hidden, in addition, some diseases have a long incubation period. Only a blood test will confirm the absence of the disease.

Signs of an allergic reaction to a tick bite

An allergy occurs in response to tick saliva getting into the wound. The individual reaction of the body depends on the state of health in general. The consequences of tick bites are more severe in allergy sufferers, children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems. You can remove a moderate allergic reaction with the help of antihistamines.

Common signs of allergies:

• weakness;
• drowsiness;
• aches in the joints;
• headache;
• nausea;
• dizziness,
• temperature rise;
• itching and rash in the area of ​​​​the bite and on other parts of the body.

With a strong individual allergic reaction, anaphylactic shock may occur, which is preceded by:

• difficulty breathing;
• hallucinations;
• angioedema (rapid and massive swelling of the face, throat, or extremities);
• loss of consciousness.

Anaphylactic shock can be controlled with the administration of prednisolone and adrenaline. If the symptoms after a tick bite indicate a severe allergic reaction, an urgent emergency call is necessary, otherwise a fatal outcome is possible.

Signs of the development of tick-borne encephalitis

The incubation period for tick-borne encephalitis can last from 4 to 14 days. During this period, the infected person does not have any external health problems. Then the temperature rises sharply to 38-39 ° C, the patient has a fever, appetite disappears, muscle and eye pain appears, nausea or vomiting, severe headache.

Then comes remission, during which the patient feels some relief. This is the second phase of the disease, during which the nervous system is affected. Subsequently, meningitis, encephalitis, paralysis may develop. If left untreated, death is likely.

The problem is that the signs of the disease in the initial stage are often confused with the flu and acute respiratory infections, so they do not go to the doctor, but self-medicate. When a high temperature appears after a detected or suspected tick bite, time should not be missed - a blood test and hospital treatment are necessary.

Symptoms of borreliosis

If a tick carrying borreliosis has bitten, the bite site takes on the appearance of a specific erythema, which gradually increases to 10-20 cm, and sometimes up to 60 cm in diameter. The erythema patch may be round, oval, or irregular in shape. The victim may experience burning, itching and pain at the site of the bite, but more often the first signs are limited to erythema alone.

After some time, a saturated red border forms along the contour of the spot, while the border itself looks slightly swollen. In the center, the erythema becomes pale white or cyanotic. After a few days, a crust and scar form in the bite area, which disappear without a trace after about 2 weeks.

The incubation period before the onset of the first symptoms ranges from several days to 2 weeks. Then comes the first stage of the disease, which lasts from 3 to 30 days. During this period, the patient experiences muscle aches, headache, weakness, fatigue, sore throat, runny nose, stiffness of the neck muscles, nausea. Then, for some time, the disease can go into a latent form up to several months, during which the heart and joints are affected.

Unfortunately, erythema is often mistaken for a local allergic reaction, without attaching much importance to it. And the malaise during the first stage of the disease is attributed to a cold or overwork at work. The disease flows into a latent form, and openly declares itself after a few months, when serious harm has already been done to the body.

Signs of the development of other diseases

An increase in temperature to 38°C and above may indicate the beginning of the development of any of the tick-borne infections. It is important to remember that a symptom such as fever does not occur immediately after a bite. The incubation period of some diseases can last up to 14 days (ehrlichiosis, hemorrhagic fever), or up to 21 days (tularemia).

Against the background of a high temperature, the following symptoms may indicate the onset of the disease:

• heart palpitations and pressure surges;
• sore throat, tongue lining and runny nose;
• anorexia, nausea and vomiting;
• swollen lymph nodes and a rash on the face (typhus);
• nosebleeds, abdominal pain, diarrhea (tularemia);
• chills, sweating, clouding of consciousness, lower back pain (hemorrhagic fever).

After a tick bite, it is necessary to measure the temperature daily for 2 weeks and monitor the state of health: any changes that appear cannot be ignored.

First aid for a tick bite

You should also consult a doctor if a trace of a possible tick bite has been found on the skin or if the signs of infection of any of the tick-borne infections described above appear. If necessary, after the examination, the doctor prescribes an appropriate course of treatment with the use of anti-inflammatory and antibacterial drugs or recommends immunotherapy.

Taking antibiotics after a tick bite is not always justified. If it is impossible to immediately consult a doctor, for the purpose of emergency prevention, it is better to take immunomodulators (for example, iodantipyrine). Allergy sufferers can take antihistamines.

This pathology is a focal infection that adversely affects the organs of the central nervous system and causes paralysis of the limbs and other dangerous diseases. The signs of encephalitis detected during a tick bite will help to start treatment as soon as possible, which will prevent the development of pathological processes.

Signs of tick-borne encephalitis in humans

Outwardly, the pathology does not express itself in any way, therefore it is not worth looking for symptoms in the appearance of a bite, manifestations of itching or other sensations. Often the disease is manifested by a psychological complex of symptoms.

The incubation period lasts from eight to twenty days. Already one day after infection, the first signs of tick-borne encephalitis may appear. The process of infection can have a different duration. It all depends on what type of virus has damaged the body. Now there are frequent cases of rapid development of the disease, in which the patient falls into a coma and dies due to paralysis of the respiratory system.

At the initial stages, the disease is accompanied by such appearances:

• heat;
• muscle weakness;
• body aches;
• photophobia;
• vomit;
• excessive sweating;
• loss of appetite;
• nausea;
• Strong headache.

In the case of a bite to the head, the incubation period is halved. If timely treatment is not started, then the intensity of the disease will increase.

Manifestation of encephalitis after a tick bite

There are several varieties of encephalitis, which are distinguished by the characteristic symptoms that appear in humans.

Feverish form

Is the easiest. Its main manifestations:

• malaise of the whole organism;
• fever (for five days);
• feeling of being broken;
• loss of appetite.

In the future, complications of this form of the disease are not observed.

meningeal form

In addition to the syndrome, it is also accompanied by meningeal symptoms. Patients experience:

• disturbance of consciousness;
• severe vomiting;
• deterioration of reflex activity.

When analyzing the cerebrospinal fluid, leukocytosis with the content of pleocytes is detected. The consequence of the disease is recurrent headaches.

Poliomyelitis and radiculitis forms

With radiculitis and poliomyelitis, which appear almost the same, they are accompanied by damage to the muscles of the chest and neck. The most obvious symptoms are:

• joint pain;
• paralysis and paresthesia of small muscle fibers.

The consequence of this form is often muscle atrophy and deterioration in the motor activity of the damaged areas.

encephalitic form

It is the most severe form of the disease, during which the membranes of the brain are affected. Signs of tick-borne encephalitis develop very quickly. These include:

• paralysis of the legs and arms;
• coma;
• hallucinations;
• confusion;
• disorientation;
• slowness of movements;
• fountain vomiting.

Signs of the effects of an encephalitis tick bite

Some complications, formed during the disease, may remind of themselves throughout life. Improper removal causes injury to the skin and subcutaneous tissue. The consequence of this may be suppuration, infection and abscess. The symptoms of this condition are:

Content

The first signs of tick-borne encephalitis

Even less often, itching and hardening in the muscles appear, which disappear during the week. After the incubation period, signs of encephalitis after tick bites become more pronounced. Arise:

• fever - a sharp increase in temperature to 38-40 ° C;
• chills;
• prostration;
• headache;
• nausea, urge to vomit;
• loss of appetite;
• aches and muscle pain;
• redness of the mucous membranes of the throat and eyes;
• sleep disturbance - insomnia.

signs

The virus transmitted by insects is able to penetrate the blood-brain barrier and, together with the blood flow, reach all internal organs. More often, encephalitis affects the central nervous system, spinal sections and blood vessels. Due to the similarity of symptoms, encephalitis caused by a tick bite is often confused with a pre-stroke condition, a respiratory viral disease, and other pathologies.

Symptoms of an encephalitic tick bite may vary depending on the form of the disease:

• The febrile form is characterized by signs of intoxication of the body - fever, chills, and other symptoms of a viral infection. This form is considered one of the most favorable, because the infection does not affect the nervous system and quickly subsides after taking antiviral drugs.
• Meningeal - more common than the febrile form. The patient complains of severe headaches, which are exacerbated by tilting the head or moving the torso. After a tick bite, photophobia, nausea, and severe vomiting may occur.
• Meningoencephalic is one of the severe forms of encephalitis. It is characterized by the appearance of epileptic seizures, confusion or retardation of consciousness, paresis of the limbs. In advanced forms of encephalitis, cerebral edema, loss of consciousness, coma are possible.
• polyencephalic form. After a tick bite, severe fatigue, muscle twitching, and pain in the limbs are noted. With damage to the facial and trigeminal nerves, the face is distorted to one side, while it hurts the victim to wrinkle his forehead and swallow food.
• The polyradiculoneuritic form is associated with the appearance of signs of encephalitis, similar to sciatica. A victim of a tick bite feels numbness or tingling in the limbs, complains of stiffness and movement disorders, pain along the nerve endings. Without proper treatment, paralysis of the lower sections and the shoulder girdle can occur.

Symptoms

People can tolerate the same diseases in different ways. Some people get sick with a common cold, while others can go to work with a sore throat. In the case of encephalitis, the general condition of patients is the same for everyone - there is severe weakness, fever, severe chills. Signs of an encephalitic tick bite in humans can differ not only in the form of the disease, but also depending on the type of virus that has entered the bloodstream.

Symptoms of the Far Eastern subtype after an encephalitis tick bite

The first signs of encephalitis after a tick bite begin to appear after 1-2 weeks. These include:

• numbness, tingling of the extremities;
• pain in the back, neck, lower back when moving;
• photophobia, ripples in the eyes;
• the appearance of a feeling of nausea, severe vomiting;
• confusion;
• decreased or complete loss of appetite;
• headache;
• sleep disturbance;
• convulsions or paralysis.

European subtype

• The appearance of symptoms resembling the flu - fever, feverish delirium, general weakness, redness of the face.
• Lack of appetite, aversion to food, nausea and vomiting.
• Attachment of signs of arthritis - stiffness of movements, hardening of muscles in the morning.

After 5 days, the acute phase of European encephalitis fades, a noticeable improvement in well-being occurs. This is not a symptom of recovery. In a quarter of the victims, the disease enters the second phase within 7-8 days after improvement. Signs of encephalitis after a tick bite in the acute stage:

• joint, muscle pain;
• spasms of the muscles of the back of the head, neck;
• pain in the epigastric region (in the stomach, intestines, under the ribs);
• fear of light, loud or sharp sounds;
• epileptic seizures, convulsions;
• paralysis of the shoulder, lumbar.

Video

Not everyone knows the signs of encephalitis after a tick bite. In spring and autumn, in warm and humid weather, people often go to the doctor about a tick bite. Currently, ticks are carriers of pathogens of various diseases (tick-borne encephalitis, borreliosis, rickettsiosis, tropical fevers). In our country, tick-borne encephalitis is most often diagnosed. The disease develops after a person is bitten by infected ixodid ticks. What is tick-borne encephalitis and what are the symptoms of brain damage after a tick bite?

Features of the disease

Encephalitis refers to inflammation of the brain tissue of various etiologies. The reasons can be very different. One of them is a tick bite. Human infection occurs during hikes, walks in the woods, work on land near forests. Tick-borne encephalitis refers to natural focal diseases. The risk group includes people living in endemic regions. Most often, the following categories of people suffer from tick-borne encephalitis: fishermen, hunters, rangers, shepherds, farmers, tourists. Not every tick bite is dangerous. For infection, the tick must be infected with a virus.

The tick-borne encephalitis virus has a tropism for the cells of the nervous system, in particular, the brain. This causes the characteristic symptoms. Symptoms of the disease largely depend on the form of pathology. The following forms of the disease are distinguished: febrile, meningeal, meningoencephalitic and poliomyelitis. In this process, the substance of the brain or its membranes may be involved. The incubation period varies from 1 to 2 weeks.

Signs of encephalitis

A person, having come home, does not always immediately notice the signs of an encephalitic tick bite. The bite itself is painless. This is due to the fact that in the saliva of ticks there is a powerful anesthetic. Signs of encephalitis after a bite are not always pronounced. Once in the human body, the virus enters the lymph nodes and blood. Almost always, the virus crosses the blood-brain barrier, reaching the brain. Early signs of tick-borne encephalitis may include:

• increase in body temperature;
• malaise;
• weakness in arms and legs;
• myalgia;
• headache;
• nausea;
• vomiting.

In humans, all the symptoms of encephalitis can be combined into 2 large groups: cerebral and focal. General cerebral symptoms include headache, nausea, which does not bring relief to patients, decreased performance, weakness, fever, impaired consciousness, seizures. The impairment of consciousness may be mild in the form of stupor or lethargy, or severe with loss of reaction to environmental stimuli. Fever has some peculiarities. In most cases, it proceeds in 2 phases. There is a large interval between phases. The appearance of the second phase of fever indicates damage to the brain or its membranes.

Focal symptoms

Signs of encephalitis after a tick bite are determined by the affected area of ​​the brain. The process may involve the frontal, occipital, temporal and parietal lobes. The defeat of the frontal lobe is manifested by the following signs: impaired intellectual abilities, difficulty in speech (motor aphasia), reflexes of oral automatism, gait disturbance, behavior change. The severity of the disease and the severity of symptoms are largely determined by the virulence of the infectious agent and the state of the body's immunity. If the bite of an encephalitic tick has led to damage to the temporal lobe of the brain, then the following symptoms may be observed: loss of the ability to understand someone else's speech (sensory aphasia), visual impairment, convulsions.

Involvement of the parietal lobe provokes a violation of sensitivity, a violation of the ability to calculate mathematically. The appearance of sparks before the eyes and a decrease in visual acuity may indicate damage to the occipital lobe. We must not forget about the cerebellum. This department is responsible for balance and coordination of movements.

Encephalitis involving the cerebellum is characterized by unsteady gait, impaired coordination of movements, nystagmus, and muscle hypotension.

Manifestations of various forms of encephalitis

The consequences of a bite of an encephalitic tick can manifest itself in the form of a meningeal form of the disease. It is characterized by the appearance of the cerebral syndrome described above, and meningeal symptoms. The latter include stiff neck muscles, a symptom of Kernig, Brudzinsky. This form of the disease most often ends safely for the patient. The most severe is the meningoencephalitic form of the disease. With it, both the cells of the brain and its membranes suffer. The main signs of this form of the disease will be:

• drowsiness;
• intense headache;
• nausea;
• vomit;
• rave;
• hallucinations;
• disorders of consciousness;
• convulsions;
• signs of cranial nerve damage.

The polioencephalomyelitic form of the disease is much less common. It is based on polio syndrome (hanging head, drooping shoulders). Muscle fibrillation is often observed.

Laboratory signs

Laboratory signs of tick-borne encephalitis are of no small importance for the diagnosis. During a blood test, the following changes may be detected: an increase in the number of leukocytes, a decrease or absence of eosinophils, lymphocytopenia. Urinalysis reveals proteinuria (presence of protein) and the appearance of casts. The results of the study of cerebrospinal fluid are of the greatest value. Most often it is transparent, contains a large number of leukocytes and protein. The glucose level does not change. Even after successful treatment and recovery, all these changes can persist for a long time.

The most reliable sign of tick-borne encephalitis is the isolation of the infectious agent. It can be detected indirectly or directly. In the first case, serodiagnosis is organized. At the same time, specific antibodies to the tick-borne encephalitis virus are determined in the blood. The direct method involves the detection of the virus genome by polymerase chain reaction.

Treatment of tick-borne encephalitis

What to do if bitten by an encephalitis tick? Having found a tick on the body, the victim must pull it out. You can do this with tweezers or thread. You need to take out the tick carefully, making twisting movements. After that, you should send it to the laboratory by putting the insect in a container with a lid. If it was found that the tick is infected, you should immediately consult a doctor. What to do if bitten by an encephalitis tick? There is no etiotropic treatment for this disease. Patients are given a specific immunoglobulin. In parallel, antiviral therapy with Interferon, Reaferon and other drugs can be carried out.

In the case of a severe course of the disease, glucocorticoids are often used. Of this group, "Prednisolone" is most often used. With convulsions, the doctor may prescribe Sibazon, magnesium sulfate. To improve the trophism of the nervous tissue - preparations based on vitamins of group B ("Neurubin"). To eliminate edema, it is advisable to prescribe diuretics. At a high temperature (above 38.5 °), antipyretics are indicated. Treatment may include fluid therapy. To normalize blood flow in the brain, "Trental", "Actovegin" is used. Thus, the symptoms of encephalitis after a tick bite can manifest themselves in different ways.

The Ixodoid tick (Ixodoidea) is a carrier of the encephalitis virus. The length of a hungry insect is completely - about 0.5 cm. Fully fed mites reach 10–11 mm in length. This arthropod has 4 pairs of legs, its body is covered with a strong protective shell. Filled with blood, the back of the insect expands, containing much more content than the weight of a hungry insect.

How dangerous is a tick bite

The main danger of an arachnid bite lies in the fact that the tick-borne encephalitis virus affects almost all organs and tissues of the insect. The salivary glands are no exception. Sticking to human skin, the tick injects saliva. The liquid that has entered the dermis hardens, forming the so-called cement secret, to which the proboscis of the insect is securely glued. Thus, the first dose of infection, along with saliva, is in the human body.

Infection with a terrible, sometimes incurable disease is what the encephalitic tick is dangerous for. How the body reacts to an infection depends on the amount of the virus that has entered, the site of the bite (the closer to the head, the more serious the consequences can be), as well as on the person's immunity. But since the complications of this disease are quite serious, it is not worth relying on the body's defenses and a small amount of infection that has entered the bloodstream.

Symptoms of encephalitis in humans

Signs of an encephalitic tick bite occur 7–14 days after the infection enters the body. These are approximate statistics, often the first manifestations are visible already on the second day after infection, and sometimes, on the contrary, the incubation period increases to 20-30 days.

Symptoms after being bitten by a tick infected with encephalitis are similar to flu symptoms:

• a sharp increase in body temperature;
• aches;
• headache, photophobia;
• frequent, shallow breathing;
• weakness;
• discoloration of the skin of the face, neck.

Patients may feel sick, they may vomit. Often, the presence of a virus in the body disrupts the consciousness of the infected, introduces him into a "stunned" state, and sometimes to a coma. Also, the characteristic symptoms of an encephalitic tick bite are painful sensations in the shoulder, neck, and lower back.

The mild course of pathology in adults and children is characterized by the appearance in the first days after a tick bite of dizziness, weakness, fatigue, which, after some time, pass on their own.

There are several forms of the disease that occurs after a tick bite:

1. Feverish. The virus in this type of disease does not affect the brain, but develops only in the blood of the infected. At the same time, the signs of encephalitis after a bite are similar to the signs of a banal cold, to which a feeling of goosebumps is added.
2. Meningoencephalitic. Depending on the place of development of the virus in the patient's brain, this form of pathology is accompanied by:

• memory impairment, motor coordination,
• sleep problems
• paralysis of the upper limbs
• inability to navigate in time, space.

1. Meningeal. Accompanied by tilting the head back, the inability to straighten the legs. Symptoms of this form of encephalitis, formed after a tick bite, occur as a response to strong muscle tension in the occipital region, legs.
2. Polio. It is characterized by damage to the cells of the spinal cord. It is accompanied by malfunctions of the functioning of facial muscles, numbness of the fingers and toes, pain in the neck, shoulders, and arms. Sometimes there is paralysis of the neck and arms.

First aid for a tick bite

Treatment of tick-borne encephalitis

Specific (aimed at eliminating the cause of the onset of the disease) means of treating the virus do not exist. If you are bitten by an encephalitic tick and a few days after this event, symptoms characteristic of the development of an infection are observed, you should urgently seek help from doctors. In the medical institution, the patient will be given supportive therapy and an immunoglobulin preparation obtained from the blood plasma of a person who has had encephalitis will be urgently administered.

Treatment of encephalitis involves the use of:

• antipyretics;
• painkillers;
• antibiotics and hormonal drugs;
• nootropics - drugs that positively affect brain activity.

In addition, symptomatic treatment of the bitten includes:

1. The use of diuretics in the presence of cerebral edema.
2. The introduction of large doses of ascorbic acid. The goal is to improve the functioning of the adrenal glands and liver.
3. More severe cases of encephalitis result in tracheal intubation and subsequent mechanical ventilation.

As a result of the development of encephalitis after a tick bite, a person develops severe intoxication. Toxins are removed by intravenous infusion of solutions that contain electrolytes.

After the end of therapy, a rehabilitation period follows, which, like treatment, depends on the complexity of the infection. Sometimes it is necessary to restore hearing, speech, vision. During rehabilitation, nutrition is important, the benefits and harms of which determine the rate of recovery of the patient.

A tick bite is a danger to human health and life, not only because of the risk of contracting encephalitis. Many other diseases of an infectious nature also appear from ticks. Timely treatment and prevention of pathologies leading to diseases of the heart and nervous system is the main rule for success in the fight against viruses transmitted by arthropods.