30 Almaty residents bitten by ticks

More than three dozens of Almaty residents have suffered tick bites since the beginning of the year, Tengrinews reports citing the sanitary-epidemiological service of the city.  

Almaty is located near the mountains and the problem of ticks comes high on the city agenda every spring. The city disperses insecticides over the areas with large tick populations, but this only helps keep their population at bay and does not solve the problem altogether.

What makes the problem of Ixodidae ticks so pressing is that some of the ticks are toxic and their bite can be much more that just a bite of an insect. It can come with a handful of extremely dangerous and even deadly diseases. Tick-borne infections relevant to the area Almaty is located in include Lyme disease (borreliosis), encephalitide, spotted fever and even very rare cases of tularemia.

"In 2014, the first treatment for tick bites was recorded on March 17, last year it was March 11. Since the beginning of 2014, 33 people affected by tick bites have already applied to the city hospitals. Fourteen of the cases were children under 14. No cases of tick-borne diseases has been registered this year," the statement said.

“Ticks inhabit Aksay gorge, Karasay, Talgar regions and also Medeu, Butakovka and Remizovka regions (these are the mountainous areas surrounding Almaty city). There is a risk of ticks' bites in the city as well, but this risk is low,” Chief of the Sanitary and Epidemiological Supervision on Parasitic Diseases Department Alina Abirova said, “Their activity peaks in March-May and June-July.”

Sanitary doctors recommended tourists who hike in the mountains near Almaty to take precautions. Ticks live in grass and can climb as high as one meter.

The best way to remove a tick is mechanically. To facilitate prompt removal, fine-tipped tweezers can be used to grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible and detach it by applying a steady upward force without crushing, jerking or twisting, in such a way as to avoid leaving behind mouthparts or provoking regurgitation of infective fluids into the wound. It is important to disinfect the bite area thoroughly after removal of the tick. After removal of the tick it is best to store it and, in case of signs or symptoms of a subsequent infection, show it to a clinician for identification purposes.

However if you have no proper instruments to remove the tick without leaving the tick's head and mouthparts in the wound it is best not to make the attempts yourself and turn to a doctor instead. Because if the tick's head and mouthparts remain attached to the body after you attempts their removal may require a punch biopsy.

Those bitten commonly experience symptoms such as body aches, fever, fatigue, joint pain, or rashes if the tick was bearing any diseases. 

If bitten by a tick it is fest to apply to a hospital for a vaccine without waiting for symptoms to manifest themselves. Aspirin doesn't work as a vaccine, so taking it at home is not a sovereign remedy.