2023-10-04 16:25:56
Next to 47 000 cas1 of Lyme disease were diagnosed in France in 2021. Most of the people affected are children and young adults living in heavily wooded areas. Lyme disease is said to be vector-borne because it is transmitted by a vector, namely the tick Ixodes ricinus ; it is also the vector disease most widespread in European countries !
What causes Lyme disease?
Lyme disease (or Lyme borreliosis) is an infectious disease contracted following a tick bite contaminated with bacteria, Borrelia. Ticks are mites measuring a few millimeters whose main activity is to feed on the blood of mammals that they come across like dogs, horses… and humans. When the tick bites, it sucks blood to feed and that is when it transmits the baceteria borrelia, via his saliva. Once in the human body, the bacteria spreads and infects organs, joints, the brain or the heart. Ticks are very good vectors because there are many speciesthey can travel very large distances, their lifespan is several years and they reproduce in very large quantities.
More all ticks do not carry Lyme disease. Depending on the region, only 5 et 20% ticks are infected with the Borrelia bacteria. When an infected tick bites, the probability of being infected and developing borreliosis is quite low, around 1%. Following a tick bite, the risk of developing Lyme borreliosis is very weak if the tick remains attached to our skin less than 24 hours, and even if we were stung in one of the high-risk sectors. However, this risk increases if the tick remains attached for longer.
We catch ticks in forests, carpets of dead leaves, and bushes but also in meadows and in parks in particular. in autumn and spring. They are particularly found in Alsace and Limousin.
Lyme disease is not contagious.
What are the symptoms of Lyme disease?
Generally, you do not feel the tick clinging to your skin.u because the bite does not cause pain and may even go unnoticed. And for good reason : she is tiny ! In fact, unless you find the creature, you don’t know that you have contracted Lyme disease before feeling the symptoms: quite numerousthey appear between 3 and 30 days after tick bites. THE main symptoms of Lyme disease are :
- a flu syndrome (fever, chills, headache, body aches): in general, the symptoms disappear after a few days or weeks.
- a round, red spot extends around tick bites (erythema migrans): it disappears in 1 to 4 weeks.
If the person affected by Lyme disease does not take antibiotic treatmentother symptoms may appear:
- Muscle weakness
- Localized paralysis
- Joint pain (especially knees)
- Severe fatigue
Lyme disease is one of those pathologies whoseThe diagnosis is very difficult to establish because on the one hand, diagnostic tests are considered to be unreliable and on the other hand, the symptoms resemble those of the flu, multiple sclerosis and fibromyalgia. Finally, Tick bites are also difficult to identify.
To find out if you have contracted Lyme disease, you make an appointment with your general practitioner or a doctor specializing in infectious and tropical diseases if one erythema migrans appears. The professional evolves the symptoms then the clinical signs such as the presence of this erythema migrans around a bite. If in doubt, a blood test can be taken to check specific antibodies but these screening tests are deemed not very sensitive to the presence of the latter.
Earlier, we receive treatment for Lyme disease, the greater the chances of recovery. Pour treat theLyme disease :
- if it is diagnosed shortly after the tick bite, treatment such as oral antibiotics such as doxyciline or amoxicilin for 2 to 3 weeks,
- if the stage is advanced, we ingest the antibiotics up to approximately 4 weeks.
When this treatment is not taken, Lyme disease can cause skin, muscular, neurological and joint damage can be very disabling3.
Despite much research, no vaccine against this disease is available.
Since the ticks that cause Lyme disease live in forests, leaf litter, brush, meadows and parks, we are particularly vigilant when walking in this type of environment. To walk in the forest with complete peace of mindhere are some tips to protect yourself from a potential tick bite:
- Wear some long, light clothing,
- Tuck the bottom of his pants into his socks,
- Favor walking on trails and avoid tall grass and dead leaves because this is where ticks are most often found.
Even if we applied these tips, we check that no ticks are on our body or our clothes when we return home. If this is the case, you must remove it with a tick hook or fine tweezers: grab the head of the tick and pull slowly. If you have taken your pet for a walk, inspect it too and check that it is not carrying any because animals can also bring ticks into the house!
1. Lyme borreliosis and prevention of tick bites: where are we in France?, Public Health France.
2. Lyme disease (Lyme borreliosis), from the Pasteur Institute.
3. Better understand and combat pathogens transmitted by ticks, ANSES.
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