In the Irkutsk region, Rospotrebnadzor specialists are recording a sharp rise in tick bites, this year there are six times more than a year ago. In a week, more than a thousand people sought medical help, and studies show that one in four ticks may carry dangerous infections, including encephalitis and borreliosis. Doctors remind, the best protection against tick borne encephalitis is vaccination, and borreliosis requires antibiotic treatment.

An unprecedented surge in tick bites is being recorded by Rospotrebnadzor specialists this year. The figures are 6 times higher than last year. Studies show that every fourth dangerous parasite is a carrier of an infection deadly to humans.
According to the regional Rospotrebnadzor Office, only over the past week 1,072 people, including 190 children, sought medical care at healthcare facilities in the Irkutsk Region because of tick bites. During the same period in 2008, there were fewer bite victims — 880 people.
- We have been working with tick-borne infections for the second year. Our number of visits is 5-6 times higher than it was last year, says bacteriologist Tatiana Nikolaeva of the Federal State Healthcare Institution "Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology in the Irkutsk Region".
People affected by tick bites seek help at the regional center for hygiene and epidemiology every day. There is an especially large influx of patients at the beginning of the week, when people return to the city after a rest in nature.
Doctors at the center say that not only the total number of ticks is increasing, but also the percentage infected with diseases. Every parasite brought to the clinic is tested by doctors for the presence of encephalitis, rickettsiosis, and borreliosis viruses.
- The best protection against tick-borne encephalitis is vaccination. Our vaccine is very effective. And against borreliosis, only treatment with antibiotics helps, says virologist Anna Sevastyanova of the Federal State Healthcare Institution "Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology in the Irkutsk Region".
The press service of the Rospotrebnadzor office reports that this week 3 people were hospitalized with suspected tick-borne encephalitis, 7 with tick-borne borreliosis, and 2 with tick-borne rickettsiosis. In three more patients, the diagnosis of tick-borne encephalitis has already been confirmed. Over the week, 400 ticks were examined. Of these, 25 were infected with the tick-borne encephalitis virus and 82 with borrelia. Thus, every fourth tick in the Irkutsk Region may be a carrier of infections deadly to humans.