With the advent of the first warm days, most of us strive to get out into the countryside to enjoy the desired relaxation and fresh air. Unfortunately, the environment, even in the immediate vicinity of the city, is fraught with many serious dangers for humans and their pets. Every year, more and more people decide to get tick-borne encephalitis vaccinations for themselves or pets . When to put a similar vaccine, and what features does it have? Let's try to find answers to the most popular questions on this topic.
Definition and symptoms of the disease
For starters, it is recommended to determine how specifically vaccinations against tick-borne encephalitis are important for you and your family. Whether it is necessary to make injections is up to each person to decide. However, to make an informed decision, it is recommended that you first evaluate all possible risks. For this, it is necessary to have an idea of ββthe disease itself, its symptoms, methods of transmission, as well as possible complications.
Encephalitis is an infectious disease caused by a tick of the same name. The damaging effect of the disease is aimed at the work of the nervous system, central and peripheral. Infection is transmitted to humans and animals through:
- bite of an infected tick (insect of any kind);
- eating raw milk from infected cattle.
At first, tick-borne encephalitis can resemble a cold disease, it is quite difficult to diagnose it. The patient may feel weakness, severe pain in the muscles, an increase in body temperature and even fever are noted. Manifestations are recorded on average one to two weeks after the onset of the disease, if successful, they last about 7 days, then the recovery period begins. Unfortunately, quite often a severe form of the disease can be noted, vaccinations against tick-borne encephalitis will help prevent it. When is an injection preferred? In advance or upon infection?
When should I take care of the vaccine in advance?
If you live in a potentially dangerous zone or engage in any specific type of activity (for example, hunting in wild places), then taking care of protecting your health is absolutely worthwhile in advance. A dangerous disease is mostly common in Eastern Europe, in Russia and in several Asian regions. Speaking specifically about our country, it should be noted that in the central regions the level of tick infection, and therefore the risk of transmission of the infection to humans, is quite low, only about one percent. The least safety was observed in Siberia and the Far East (20% of insects are infected and pose a threat), as well as in the Urals (up to 10%).
Insects almost never live on trees, they can be found in tall grass and shrubs, as soon as the thermometer crosses the zero mark towards the plus (ticks appear at an air temperature of five degrees Celsius).
General vaccination postulates
There are several varieties of tick-borne encephalitis vaccination. When to put a particular vaccine, you can determine by reading the special schedule for each specific composition. To begin, we formulate the basic rules of vaccination. These include information of the following nature:
- all injections, regardless of the country of manufacture, are interchangeable;
- There are two vaccination regimens: classic (primary) and emergency;
- vaccinations are carried out all year round;
- injections can be done in two or three stages;
- vaccination is permissible only for healthy people from the age of one year after a mandatory examination by a doctor;
- one injection does not form immunity;
- revaccination is carried out at least once every three years, the exact timing must be checked with a doctor.
Sample emergency vaccination schedule
What are emergency vaccines against tick-borne encephalitis? When to put such injections? First of all, it should be noted that only foreign drugs, German and Austrian, are used to implement such a scheme, it is believed that they have a minimal amount of side effects. In both cases, the children's dose (up to 15 years) is 0.25 milliliters, and the adult dose doubles it (i.e. 0.5 milliliters). The introduction of the first vaccine is possible at any time of the year, but most often it is done a couple of months before the warm spring. The injection schedule includes the following steps:
- first vaccination;
- the second (after a time interval of two weeks);
- the third (after an interval of 5 to 12 months);
- revaccination (depending on the type of vaccination - after one and a half or three years).
General schemes
What other schemes are used for tick-borne encephalitis vaccines? When to put, where to give injections? The scheme, which implies two stages, looks approximately as follows:
- first vaccination in March / April;
- the second vaccination (at least a month later, a maximum - after seven).
A similar technique is used relatively less often, in most cases injections in three stages are relevant, after three and after five to twelve months from the first and second injection, respectively.
In general, we can conclude that each specific technique is determined by the doctor. Injections can be carried out both in specialized private clinics, and in state medical institutions. Vaccination is paid, the cost of the drug depends on its variety and manufacturer, domestic substances are usually more affordable.
Do children need injections?
Many parents before the summer season are concerned about the issue of whether tick-borne encephalitis vaccinations are necessary for their children. When to give children similar protective injections, and is it worth doing at all? Of course, this issue is extremely controversial. On the one hand, babies have weak immunity, and they are very difficult to tolerate any disease. On the other hand, if the risk of infection is minimal, is it worth torturing the baby with a rather heavy injection? If you have clearly decided for yourself to vaccinate your baby against encephalitis, pay attention to the fact that experts recommend giving preference to foreign vaccines. European drugs are used in a specially adapted dose and are considered more sparing, which means they give much less side effects.
Feasible side effects
Let's talk about the consequences of vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis in children. Reviews of many parents contain information that babies can hardly tolerate such an external intervention. Negative reactions caused by injections include:
- fever and fever;
- change in habitual behavior, apathy, or extreme excitability;
- severe headaches;
- loss of appetite;
- allergic manifestations, itching, or pain;
- swollen and swollen lymph nodes;
- heart palpitations;
- cramps, severe muscle pain;
- vomiting, upset stomach.
Do animals get encephalitis vaccines?
Do vaccines protect against tick-borne encephalitis? When to give dogs such injections, after all, faithful companions of a person are often exposed to tick attacks during walks? Encephalitis vaccination for four-legged friends does not exist, but they may well pick up other unpleasant diseases. The immunity of our smaller brothers is developed relatively quickly, in just 14 days, so injections from ticks can and should be done in the month of March, that is, about 3-4 weeks before the onset of stable warm weather. Note that the vaccine is designed to protect dogs and cats from diseases, and not from the unpleasant bites themselves.
What to do after a bite?
What to do if you have already been bitten by an insect, and you have not previously been vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis? When to put and where are the injections that will help you? First of all, do not panic, if you have a special device, remove the tick and place it in a container with air. The insect will need to be transferred for further research to identify possible infections. Your next step is to visit the emergency room, there you will be given an injection of immunoglobulin, which provides relative protection for the body for one month.
Now you know when and how tick-borne encephalitis vaccinations are given. The benefit or harm of vaccination largely depends on the individual characteristics of the human body, as well as on the existence or absence of specific risks. Timely preventive injections protect against a dangerous disease in 95 out of 100 cases, which is a very favorable indicator. Pre-vaccination is considered much more effective than measures taken after the onset of the event (insect bite). Remember, reasonable care for your health is never superfluous!