How long after a tick bite to donate blood. What blood tests should be taken after a tick bite? There are special tools for removing ticks.

Tick-borne encephalitis can be carried by a person in a particularly severe form, which even leads to death. In the early stages, it is similar to other dangerous diseases, such as typhus, tick-borne borreliosis, etc. That is why it is important to make a diagnosis that will show the real cause of the symptoms that have appeared. In this article, we will figure out how and when to take a blood test for borreliosis.

Borreliosis is also observed in the same regions, occurs after a tick is sucked in spring and summer, so they must be differentiated. If an insect is found on the body, an analysis of the biomaterial should be carried out immediately, and if the result is positive, urgent measures should be taken within the next four days after the bite by contacting a therapist or infectious disease specialist.

Features of borreliosis and encephalitis

Encephalitis and are carried by ticks in Russia. The data is often confused, although they are fundamentally different. Tick-borne encephalitis is viral in nature, while borreliosis is bacterial. Both diseases affect the central nervous system, but Lyme disease also affects the joints, heart muscle, and skin. Encephalitis is characterized by an acute form, while borreliosis has a chronic course. Developing, each disease receives pronounced differential symptoms. A blood test for encephalitis and borreliosis will help determine the infection.

What is more common?

On the territory of Russia, from six to eight thousand new cases of borreliosis are registered every year, and encephalitis is less common - five to six thousand diagnoses.

Tick-borne encephalitis is caused by a virus of the flavivirus family (a group of arboviruses), transmitted by the bites of European forest and taiga ixodid ticks, although cases of infection through the gastrointestinal tract due to the consumption of raw milk of infected animals (sheep, cows, goats) have also been recorded. As the virus develops, slow, but often irreversible, changes occur in the vessels and membranes of the brain.

At first, the disease is not symptomatic, but by the third week there is an increase in temperature, muscle and headaches, loss of appetite, and nausea. A quarter of patients feel these signs even later, after a month. Over time, the pain becomes stronger, paralysis of the limbs, convulsions, loss of consciousness, disorientation, coma appear. If help is not available, a blood test may help to identify the disease in a timely manner.

There are several forms of tick-borne encephalitis, depending on different symptoms. The heaviest ones were recorded in the Far East, the lungs prevail in the Central European part of Russia.

Is there a cure for encephalitis?

It is possible to cure encephalitis, but this requires a large number of drugs and methods. In this case, there is no specific type of treatment leading to recovery. Therapy is carried out exclusively in a hospital with the appointment of pathogenetic, etiotropic and symptomatic drugs. Complex drugs are also prescribed that have anti-inflammatory, immunological, antiviral, hormonal, anticonvulsant, neuroprotective, psychotropic and other actions. After that, rehabilitation treatment is prescribed: this is physiotherapy exercises, psycho- and occupational therapy, speech therapy, etc. Within a few years, there may be seizures, symptoms of muscle atrophy, degradation of cognitive function, and other CNS disorders. Sometimes the consequences can last for the rest of your life.

It is worth noting that the most effective protection against encephalitis is the person's own antibodies, which the body produces after the introduction of the vaccine in the autumn, six months before the start of the dangerous season. Vaccinations are also widely prescribed to promote rapid prevention: three doses in twenty-one days, giving up to 97% protection.

What about borreliosis?

A blood test for borreliosis is important, since there is no vaccine for the disease. In addition, a person does not develop a stable immunity to bacteria, he can get sick again.

Lyme disease occurs in humans after ingestion of the bacterium Borrelia. It is immediately attacked by the immune system and moves to where the immune system cannot cope - in the heart, nerve tissue, tendons. For this reason, unlike encephalitis, the acute stage is not observed, and the disease becomes protracted. The main distinguishing symptom is migrating annular erythema, which has the appearance of a bright red spot at the site of the bite, gradually growing in size and forming rings. The skin is flaky and necrosis appears. Allergic erythema may also appear on other parts of the body. In some forms of the disease, they may be absent altogether, but intoxication and fever appear, which makes borreliosis almost indistinguishable from encephalitis. A blood test for tick-borne borreliosis and encephalitis will help to differentiate the disease.

A month later, symptoms of CNS damage appear: partial paralysis of the limbs, speech disorders, mood swings. Meningitis may develop. If no action is taken, arthritis, hearing loss, neuralgia, disorientation, and severe speech defects begin to progress in a year.

The carriers of the class of bacteria to which Borrelia belongs are the same ticks that are carriers of encephalitis. The causative agent of Lyme disease lives in the digestive system of the tick, and not in its saliva, so it does not spread in the human body immediately. With the timely removal of the insect, there is a chance not to get infected.

Borreliosis is treated, the main thing is to avoid the transition to the chronic stage. The patient is prescribed medication, the correct intake of which guarantees recovery.

Lyme disease is not transmitted from person to person, but there is a possibility of transmission from a pregnant woman to her fetus. That is why this disease is sometimes diagnosed in newborns.

A blood test for borreliosis, and even for encephalitis, can be taken at infectious diseases hospitals, commercial and virological laboratories. The main thing is that parallel studies of both diseases are carried out in the clinic.

Tests for encephalitis

A study of venous blood is carried out (taken from the cubital vein) and a tick removed from the body.

There are the following methods of analysis:

• immunoassay - determines the presence of antibodies to the virus in human blood (two classes: IgG and IgM), due to its high sensitivity, it makes it possible to see the disease in the early stages.
• PCR study of a tick, the task of which is to determine the presence of encephalitis virus DNA in an insect. Fragments are also suitable for this type of analysis if it was not possible to pull out the whole tick. In the event of an insect infection, the patient is immediately injected with a special immunoglobulin that suppresses the development of the virus. This method saves about 60%. Routine vaccination provides stronger protection. But this does not mean at all that the patient should give up, since the most important thing is timely diagnosis and monitoring of one's well-being.

Antibodies to the virus are produced only after 10-14 days, so it makes no sense to take tests before this period. By the end of the month and for six months, the peak of concentration is maintained. The insect must be brought immediately after removal, and if it has an infection, the patient must be observed by a doctor, and after two weeks, an analysis should be taken (it should be noted that it does not require special preparation, you only need not to eat four hours before visiting the laboratory) .

Decryption

The results of the analysis for IgG antibodies are given in quantitative terms with the appearance in the decoding of the concept of "titer" - an indicator of the concentration of antibodies (for example, 1:100, 1:400, etc.). If more than 1:100, then the immune system is reacting. If it is less, then this shows a lack of reaction, and when the virus enters, the person will definitely get sick. The indicator of a healthy body is from 200 to 400.

The results of a blood test for na are of a qualitative nature: detected or not. If there are IgG and no IgM in the blood, these results are most likely indicative of vaccination. And the presence of both indicators indicates infection. A re-examination should be repeated in a week to establish an accurate diagnosis.

Blood test for borreliosis

It is quite difficult to see Borrelia, so indirect methods are used. The most acceptable way is serological tests. Venous blood is taken and examined for the presence of antibodies to the spirochete. As a supplement, synovial and cerebrospinal fluids are also examined. The tick must be brought to the laboratory immediately after removal from the body, placing it in a container for biomaterials or in a test tube.

There are several blood tests for borreliosis. The decryption is shown below.

Since borreliosis does not develop immediately, it is necessary to take tests at a certain time. Rushing can result in a false negative. The peak concentration of antibodies is observed after three months. Before taking a blood test for encephalitis and borreliosis, you should stop smoking and not eating for four hours.

The results of the analyzes can be either qualitative (“detected” or “not detected”) or quantitative, that is, indicating the amount of antibodies.

Deciphering the analysis for IgG antibodies

The decoding of the values ​​is as follows:

• Less than 10 U / ml - "negative" (there is no infection or the analysis was passed in the early stages).
• From 10 to 15 - "doubtful".
• Above 15 - "positive". Such a result may also indicate the past illness and the presence of bacterial endocarditis, syphilis, mononucleosis or other diseases in the patient. It is better to repeat a blood test for borreliosis in one to two weeks.

Test indicators for IgM antibodies

The decoding is as follows:

• Less than 18 U / ml - "negative".
• 18-22 - "doubtful."
• More than 22 - "positive". Recommendations are the same as in the previous analysis.

A Western blot study shows bands on the membrane, indicating the presence or absence of antibodies to certain antigens. The method is effective as an additional one.

The conclusion might look like this:

• "positive" - ​​IgM antibodies are present;
• "negative" - ​​no antibodies;
• "indeterminate" - weak bands that do not make it possible to judge the presence or absence of antibodies.

It is impossible to diagnose borreliosis on the basis of one analysis, since the process of its development is too complicated. It is also necessary to simultaneously pass tests for encephalitis, since ticks can be carriers of both diseases.

In the article, we examined how blood tests for tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis are given and deciphered.

When going to the forest for mushrooms or for a picnic, you need to be extremely careful not to pick up a tick. These small inhabitants of the thickets sometimes pose a mortal danger to humans. Diseases such as encephalitis and borreliosis have long been known to people. It's pretty hard to fight them. In order to exclude their presence after a bite, you need to know where to take the tick for analysis. We will talk about this in the article.

We examine the tick

Before going to the forest, you first need to find out what a tick looks like in order to easily distinguish it from another insect. They are small, reaching a maximum length of 3 millimeters. The body is drop-shaped. Ticks have 2 pairs of legs.

After the animal sucked and began to feed on blood, its size increases significantly. It becomes like a brown pea. The tick pierces the skin with a special sharp proboscis, while together with saliva a substance is released that dulls pain. In a way, it can be called a typical anesthesia. Therefore, many simply do not feel the moment of the bite.

Males, after they are saturated with blood, fall off on their own, and females continue to stay on the body of the victim.

Now you know what a tick looks like, so if it is found on your clothes or on your body, you must urgently get rid of it.

Their habitats

So, you ask, where do ticks live? The answer is quite simple - wherever there are deciduous trees and shrubs. They do not know how to jump, but gradually climb onto low vegetation (no more than half a meter high) and wait for their prey. Ticks do not like high temperatures, so meeting them during the day is a rarity. But in the morning and in the evening - it's time to hunt.

Ticks fall on top of the victim and quickly crawl under the clothes. A place to bite is chosen for a long time. As a rule, this is the neck, armpits, inguinal zone, head.

Remember: if you are bitten by this arthropod, be sure to do a tick analysis. Find out what species it belonged to and whether it was encephalitic.

What does the bite site look like?

How to understand that you were bitten by a tick? The first thing you should do after a walk is to carefully examine yourself and the clothes you were wearing. If you are unlucky and bitten by a tick, a small red bump will be visible on the skin, in the center of which there is a dark dot that looks like a splinter. Over time, the tubercle will increase, the body of the arthropod will bleed and swell.

In this case, you need not to get confused, and correctly remove it, so that later you can take it to the laboratory. "Where to take a tick for analysis?" - perhaps the most common question. There are special centers that provide such services.

What to do if you find a stuck tick

Before a tick can be analyzed, it must be carefully removed. It is better to do this with ordinary tweezers or eyebrow tweezers. Try to hook the body closer to the proboscis, and then begin gentle rotational movements along the axis. 3-4 turns are enough - and the tick will come out entirely.

It is strictly forbidden to pull it out with a sharp movement. This can cause the body to break into several pieces. The remains are much more difficult to remove, you will have to contact a medical institution.

Also in this case, you do not have to ask the question: “Where to take the tick for analysis?” It is carried out only in the presence of a live animal. Remember: if the head of the tick has not been removed, the risk of contracting encephalitis is still huge. It is in the saliva that the infection is located.

We use improvised material

If bitten by a tick, what should I do first? Of course, it must be carefully pulled out. But it happens that there are no necessary tools at hand to remove the tick. Then you can use thread. To do this, you need to tie a knot under the proboscis and start swinging the tick, gradually pulling it out.

There are also community councils. True, it is far from always necessary to follow them. You should know what not to do when you find a tick:

1. Crush, tear it apart.
2. Fill with sunflower oil.
3. Apply ointment.

If the tick could not be completely removed, but it is not possible to urgently go to the hospital, it is necessary to get the remnants with a sharp needle. But first it must be wiped with alcohol or calcined on fire. After that, treat the wound with an alcohol solution (ordinary vodka will do) or iodine. It is not necessary to apply a bandage, to seal the bite site.

Are tests needed?

Having found a sucked animal on the body, many people ask: “Where to take the tick for analysis?” In Moscow, as well as in any other city, this can be done in a special laboratory of Rospotrebnadzor. The main condition is that he must be alive. To do this, it must be placed in a glass container and put a piece of cotton wool soaked in cold water there.

Ticks do not tolerate high temperatures, so it is better to place the container in a cool place, such as a refrigerator. Be sure to close the lid tightly so that it cannot escape. It is better to deliver the tick to the laboratory on the first day after removing it.

For many, the question is relevant: “Where to take a tick for analysis in St. Petersburg?” After all, such well-known laboratories as Invitro, Nor Helix, do not conduct such studies. You can do this in the hospital. Botkin. The cost is small - about 500 rubles.

Encephalitic tick: is it worth sounding the alarm?

If you are bitten by a tick, you need to immediately take action - remove it. To answer the question of where to take a tick for analysis (in Moscow or another city - it doesn’t matter), you can call an ambulance or go to the hospital. They are obliged to suggest the addresses of the nearest laboratories. This must be done to be sure that he was not contagious. Of the 30,000 species of ticks, about 5,000 are encephalitic. Infection occurs after a tick has bitten a sick animal. At the same time, this infection does not have any effect on the latter.

It is worth noting that encephalitis can also be contracted by drinking raw milk, which contained the virus, or by accidentally rubbing a tick over the body. The virus enters the bloodstream, spreads throughout the body and affects the spinal cord and brain. Because of this, the human nervous system is damaged.

If an infection occurs, you must immediately take action - drink an antiviral agent. For children, "Anaferon" is suitable, for adults - "Yodatipirin". If these medicines were not at hand, take what is in the first-aid kit: Arbidol, Cycloferon, Laferobion, and so on. After 10-14 days, it is better to take a detailed blood test and look at its results.

We monitor the state of health after a bite

If a tick bite occurs, symptoms may include:

• During the first few days, the redness at the site of the bite will not go away, this is absolutely normal, the main thing is that the spot does not increase in size.
• Weakness and general malaise.
• If within 30 days there have been cases of fever, urgently go to the hospital.
• Nausea, dizziness, migraine, hallucinations are signs of infection with encephalitis.

It is important to know that if there was a tick bite, the symptoms described above may only appear after a month. During this time, carefully monitor your health and pay attention to all the changes that occur in your body.

Tick-borne borreliosis: how to recognize the disease

A disease such as tick-borne borreliosis has the following symptoms:

1. The skin at the site of the bite changes color, becomes redder, the spot increases in size.
2. There are signs of general malaise: weakness, migraine, dizziness, aching joints.
3. Intoxication of the body manifests itself in the form of vomiting and diarrhea.
4. Lymph nodes may become inflamed, rashes appear on the body.
5. Years later, disorders of the nervous system may be observed.

In order not to panic, and not to wind yourself up, it is better to take the arthropod to a special laboratory. “Where to take a tick for analysis (in St. Petersburg, Moscow or a small town - it doesn’t matter)?” - a question that worries almost everyone who has encountered this trouble. In fact, this can be done in many hospitals. It is better to contact your doctor or infectious disease specialist at the clinic. They will not only tell you where to take the tick for analysis, but perhaps they themselves will pick up a jar with an arthropod for transfer to the laboratory. You can take the container directly to the local SES. Research is usually carried out within a few hours. In the event that it turns out that the tick is infected, the bitten one will be prescribed prophylactic treatment. There you will not only be given a complete analysis, but will also be offered a vaccine in case of infection.

Protecting yourself from the aggressor

In order to avoid questions about where to take the tick for analysis, it is better to take the necessary protective measures in advance:

1. If you want to walk in a deciduous forest, choose a hot day for this purpose.
2. Pay special attention to clothing. The body should be as closed as possible. For these purposes, a sports suit is perfect. Pants must be tucked into sneakers. Put on a panama hat, scarf or cap on your head.
3. A tick can stay on clothes for a long time, so after you come home from a walk, inspect things first. It is best to wash them immediately in hot water.
4. After that, examine the body well in the neck, armpits, in the groin area.
5. Do not forget to purchase and use special protective equipment: creams, lotions, sprays.
6. Of course, you can make an encephalitis vaccine in advance, but doctors warn that it often causes allergic reactions and other side effects.
7. If you often go for walks in the forest, it is better to protect yourself as much as possible and purchase a suit against ticks, on which special traps are located.

By following all these rules, you can protect yourself from this mess as much as possible.

Tick ​​bites are quite common in humans. The danger is especially great from July to September, when the activity of these representatives of the animal world is quite high. To protect yourself from them, you must take precautions. When going to the forest, choose the right clothes. If you like outdoor activities, it is better to purchase special anti-tick suits that are 99% effective. Remember: the bite of this arthropod can be deadly.

When should a blood test be done?

Immediately after an arthropod bite, it does not make sense to go to the laboratory. Only after days or even weeks the human body will be able to give an accurate answer to the question of whether there is an infection. In order for specific antibodies to be formed, which the analysis reveals, time must pass.

After a tick bite, a blood test must be taken in several cases:

• if everything happened in an area that is considered epidemic for encephalitis;
• tick diagnostics showed that the bloodsucker is contagious;
• when a person has symptoms of the disease (weakness in the muscles, fever, swollen lymph nodes).

Also, the analysis is prescribed after the treatment to assess its effectiveness.

What tests to take after a tick bite

Many people who are faced with this problem are worried about what to take the test after a tick bite. The question is important, since an undetected disease in time can lead to severe damage to the nervous system, musculoskeletal system, cardiovascular system, partial or complete disability.

Enzyme immunoassay (ELISA).

It is based on a specific antigen-antibody reaction. This laboratory immunological method is used for the qualitative or quantitative determination of various compounds, viruses, macromolecules. It involves the detection of specific immunoglobulins to the main antigens Borrelia burgdorferi.

The first to appear in the blood are immunoglobulins M (IgM), which indicate a recent infection. Later, immunoglobulins G (IgG) begin to be diagnosed, which have the property to remain in the blood for years, even after the person has recovered. The method is characterized by high sensitivity and provides reliable results. The study is carried out to confirm the diagnosis of Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis.

Western blotting

Occasionally, ELISA may have problems interpreting the results if the antibody level is intermediate and if a recent infection is detected. In this case, a Western blot or protein immunoblot, an analytical method that is used to determine specific proteins, will show a more accurate picture. The method is based on the detection of immunoglobulins to ten antigens of various pathogens that are carried by ticks. He is able to detect pathology at an early stage.

PCR or polymerase chain reaction method

The analysis directly determines the presence of DNA and RNA of the pathogen. With the help of this study, you can find out if there is a tick-borne encephalitis virus in the biological material. For analysis, blood is taken from a vein. PCR diagnostics is carried out when the serological method is not sufficiently informative, which happens in the early period of the disease. The study allows you to identify both capable and inactivated pathogens.

An infectious disease doctor, rheumatologist, neuropathologist or therapist can give recommendations on what tests to take if bitten by a tick. For the early detection of possible infection, the most informative are analyzes performed by Western blotting and PCR. .

When to donate blood

If it comes to how long after a tick bite you need to donate blood, then it all depends on the chosen diagnostic method. 10 days after contact with the tick, analysis can be done using the PCR method. Immunoenzymatic analysis makes it possible to detect immunoglobulins only 3-6 weeks after the incident. In the case of a positive ELISA result, Western blotting is used to confirm the diagnosis.

The diagnostic value of each of the analyzes is different and depends both on the characteristics of the analysis itself and on its application in certain periods of the disease. If the researcher's arsenal is limited to one method, it is difficult to make a diagnosis, so several tests are often used to achieve a reliable diagnosis.

Thus, after being bitten by a tick, it is simply necessary to take tests. Such a need arises if the tick itself turned out to be contagious or when a deterioration in health is observed some time after the bite.

Man is the king of nature, but in reality our relations with flora and fauna are not going well: the “royal person” causes irreparable harm to the environment, but nature does not remain in debt, sending, for example, arthropods arachnids “hunting”, then there are ticks. The bites of these pests can be very dangerous to health, and it is almost impossible to protect yourself and loved ones from a possible threat, especially in summer, so it remains to arm yourself with an algorithm of actions if the tick is still bitten.

What are the dangers of a tick bite?

Video: what you need to know about the consequences of a tick bite - Dr. Komarovsky's recommendations

What does a tick bite look like

A tick bite looks like a dotted spot with redness around, which occurs as a result of an allergic reaction to the saliva of the tick, which is secreted by it for anesthesia and preventing blood clotting.
The red spot around the puncture site is the result of an allergic reaction to the saliva of the tick.

Sometimes a small black dot can be observed at the site of the bite. This suggests that as a result of some unsuccessful manipulations, the head of the tick fell off and remained on the skin. In this case, first of all, it is necessary to remove the foreign body. After the affected area of ​​the skin is treated with alcohol, the wound is cleaned with a disinfected needle and lubricated with iodine or alcohol.

Two options for the consequences of contact with a bloodsucker

Tick ​​bite symptoms

• temperature;
• chills;
• muscle pain;
• aches (which, by the way, is perceived by many as a sign of a cold after a vacation spent in nature);
• increased drowsiness;
• discomfort when exposed to light.

These symptoms may appear as early as 2-4 hours after the bite. On average, they appear 1-3 weeks after infection.
Symptoms may appear several days after the bite.

Symptoms in sensitive people

• severe migraine;
• unhealthy blush;
• nausea, diarrhea;
• temperature rise to 39 degrees;
• eye redness;
• hoarse breathing;
• hallucinations.

Is it possible to identify a sterile or encephalitic tick by appearance

What to do after finding a bite

How to find a laboratory

The analysis procedure is carried out in:

• polyclinic or hospital with the necessary equipment;
• private laboratories researching viruses;
• Rospotrebnadzor Center.

You can find out the address of a specific organization that accepts ticks for research at the registry of the local clinic.

How to save material for analysis

Instruction:

1. Wet the cotton pad with water.
2. We put it on the bottom of the container with a tight-fitting lid.
3. We place a tick in a vessel.
4. We store in the refrigerator at a temperature of up to +5 degrees for no more than one and a half days.

For PCR research, it is possible to use parts of a tick. But this version of the analysis is rarely used.

What tests should a person take

If the tests of the tick showed a positive result, or if the bitten tick could not be saved, the victim should visit an infectious disease specialist who, after examining the bite site, will prescribe tests. The material for the study is the patient's blood serum.
For analysis, the blood of the victim of a tick bite is examined.

Table: types of tests that are prescribed for a tick bite

If the first cycle of tests gave negative results, but for their final confirmation, you can repeat the diagnostic procedures in a month.

If the tick did not have time to bite, it is not necessary to take tests.
The most reliable result can be obtained by passing several tests at once.

First aid for a tick bite

Video: how to remove a tick in the field

The nuances of emergency preventive vaccination

Video: why ticks are dangerous and whether the vaccine saves from tick-borne encephalitis - expert opinions

Conditions for emergency vaccination

Immunoglobulin injections after a tick bite are given if:

It is interesting. If the victim was vaccinated for prophylactic purposes, then this should be told to the doctor so that he can correctly calculate the dose of immunoglobulin.

Contraindications

There are a number of cases when immunoglobulin is not given until the results of the tick test are obtained. It belongs to these.