Tick-borne encephalitis is an extremely complex disease. It is a severe inflammation of the human brain. At the same time, patients suffer from heat, a painful condition, internal organs cease to work in normal mode. Damage to the central nervous system, because of which this dangerous virus can even lead to death.
The disease is transmitted by male ticks. The development of the disease occurs after an insect bite. You can get infected even if you drink goat or cow milk, if the animal was hit by a parasite. Therefore, with the beginning of the summer season, it is recommended to be vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis. Vaccination is carried out for both adults and children. However, this procedure, like the disease itself, has a number of features that you should know.
Signs of tick-borne encephalitis
At the initial stage, the disease strongly resembles ordinary flu. Patients suffer from weakness, chills, pain in the limbs, etc. However, the disease develops within 5-13 days. During this time, a person does not observe strong changes in his condition. Most often, the development of pathology stops at the first stage, but progression of the disease is observed in 20-30%.
During this period, the nervous system is damaged, muscle stiffness is observed, and patients have serious problems with memory and thinking. In some situations, complete paralysis or coma occurs. That is why experts strongly recommend preventing the possibility of developing this terrible disease and timely vaccinating against tick-borne encephalitis in children and adults.
Diagnostics
There are three methods for determining this disease. The method of serological testing is based on the study of the properties of human or animal serum. The molecular biological method involves the study of molecules for the presence of special chemical elements that indicate the presence of encephalitis. To do this, after a tick bite, you must definitely save it and show it to a specialist. This method of determining infection is considered the most reliable.
There is also a virological method. For this, it is necessary to take a sample of the cerebrospinal fluid of the patient and send a sample for research.
Treatment and prevention
To date, there are no specific ways to treat this ailment. If a person has noticed alarming symptoms, then he needs urgent hospitalization. As a rule, at the beginning of the treatment of the disease, immunoglobulin and gamma globulin are used, which can be obtained from their blood donor.
Thanks to this type of drug, fever, headaches and other unpleasant symptoms are reduced. However, to obtain a noticeable effect, drugs should be taken as soon as possible after the detection of alarming symptoms.
How vaccination can help
Vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis helps not only to identify a life-threatening infection, but also help the body develop the necessary antibodies to fight the disease. As soon as a person receives the medicine through injection, immunoglobulins begin to form in his body. As soon as a person is bitten by a tick, alien antiviruses will immediately begin to be destroyed.
Thanks to this, a tick-borne encephalitis vaccine helps protect the body from a dangerous disease. The effectiveness of such injections is 95%.
Why vaccinate a child
Many are wary of this procedure, as they fear that the baby will receive a dose of a potent drug that can harm the body. In fact, tick-borne encephalitis is a much more dangerous problem, which can lead to irreparable consequences.
Considering the need to vaccinate against tick-borne encephalitis in children, it should be borne in mind that restless babies spend much more time in the open air than adults. Parents can not always keep track of what their baby is doing. A child can accidentally pick up a tick in tall grass, bushes or even playing with other children.
After each walk with the child, and especially if he is in the countryside, it is important to always check his clothes, skin and hair for dangerous insects. If the child is bitten by a parasite, and before that he had not been vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis, it is important not to destroy the insect. The tick must be placed in a vessel with a lid and be sure to take it to the doctor.
However, it is much easier to avoid the danger and vaccinate.
Vaccination Features
As a rule, a tick-borne encephalitis vaccine is valid for 3 years. After this time, it is recommended to repeat the vaccination. After the procedure, a child or an adult can rest in the fresh air quite calmly.
According to statistics, only in 10% of cases after the procedure, the human body very poorly produces the necessary antibodies, which makes the drug less effective. However, even in this case, encephalitis is much easier to carry.
If we talk about what vaccinations against tick-borne encephalitis are used today, then most often specialists use the so-called dry vaccination, Encevir, FSME-Immun Injection, or Encepur. Choosing the best drug is best done with your doctor who is aware of the characteristics of the body of a particular person.
Vaccination schedule
Usually, the first vaccine is given by appointment with a doctor. The second injection is given after 30-90 days, depending on the chosen drug and the state of human health. The third procedure is carried out after 6-12 months.
There is also the so-called emergency vaccination. This means that the second vaccine is given 14 days after the first procedure. The following is the standard scheme.
To whom and when to get vaccinated
First of all, it is worth thinking about the procedure for those who live in the most disadvantaged regions (according to the statistics of diseases of this disease). Vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis must be done for those who spend a lot of time outdoors or have suburban real estate near the forest.
Vaccination must be carried out:
- Agricultural workers.
- To builders.
- Harvesters of the forest.
- Land reclamation.
- Exploration.
- Survey specialists.
- To all workers who carry out their activities in the areas where ticks live.
- Donors immunized to receive immunoglobulin.
- To employees who are in direct contact with ticks (for example, employees of scientific laboratories).
The procedure should be carried out in the spring, in March-April. At this time, the foliage begins to turn green and the ticks “activate”. However, the vaccination should be done some time before the opening of the summer season.
A child is recommended to be vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis after reaching the age of 1 year. Up to this point, it is worth being limited to standard measures for protecting the baby: to protect his head while in nature, treat the skin with protective sprays, etc.
Contraindications
Despite the benefits of tick-borne encephalitis vaccination, vaccination is not a completely safe procedure. First of all, it is important to make sure that an adult or child does not suffer from individual intolerance to the drug. Also, vaccination is prohibited if a person suffers from:
- Epilepsy
- Kidney infection and liver disease.
- Tuberculosis.
- Blood diseases.
- Diabetes mellitus.
- Violations of the endocrine system.
- Systemic diseases affecting connective tissue.
- Malignant neoplasms.
- Allergic reactions (especially to chicken eggs).
You also need to be careful for those who are prone to strokes and suffer from coronary heart disease.
There are temporary conditions under which such a procedure can be harmful. Tick-borne encephalitis vaccination is contraindicated in adults and children if they have fever or if a person has recently suffered a respiratory or viral disease. You can not carry out the procedure for pregnant women and infants.
Side effects
After vaccination, some patients complain of:
- Nausea.
- Elevated body temperature.
- Swelling and redness on the skin at the injection site.
- Aching muscles and joints.
- Headache.
- Weakness and drowsiness.
If we are talking about a child, then in addition he may manifest attacks of diarrhea, lymph nodes increase. Some have a rapid heartbeat. Such symptoms are considered absolutely normal after vaccination. As a rule, unpleasant manifestations disappear 3-4 days after vaccination. If this does not happen and the baby's condition only worsens, you should immediately consult a doctor.
In rare situations, patients have impaired vision and mental abnormalities. In order to prevent side effects, it is important to adhere to the doctor's recommendations.
How to avoid complications after an injection
In order not to worsen the state of health, it is important to follow several important tips from doctors:
- You can be vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis only if the person is healthy. If he was sick with acute respiratory viral infections or acute respiratory infections, it is necessary to wait a few weeks, if a foreign drug was used and more than a month when using domestic medicines, until the body is completely restored.
- A few days before vaccination you need to take anti-allergic drugs.
- Immediately after the injection, it is recommended to take an antipyretic. This will help to avoid body aches and weakness.
- After vaccination, do not stick the injection site with a band-aid or lubricate it with ointments and other means. This will lead to additional irritation, severe itching may appear.
- To alleviate the condition of the child after the procedure, you can give him an antihistamine.
Many are afraid to wet the injection site. Do not be afraid of water. You can take a shower in the usual way, no negative reaction will follow.
Tick-borne encephalitis vaccine: vaccine-tested reviews
Many parents at first are afraid to carry out a similar procedure, since they are afraid of complications. Some find information that the vaccine is very painful and babies can hardly tolerate it. However, according to most reviews, both the first and second vaccinations pass without any problems or complications.
Some note that adults actually tolerate the procedure much easier. However, even in the presence of weakness in children, all these symptoms, as a rule, disappear already on the second day after vaccination.
As practice shows, the procedure rarely leads to severe allergic reactions, if you follow all the doctor’s instructions. Almost all users note that after the procedure they feel much calmer and are not afraid to get a terrible ailment.
Additional Information
The vaccine is given to the outside of the shoulder, subcutaneously. The injection should be in the area of the deltoid muscle. In this case, the probability of getting the drug into the circulatory system is excluded.
Few people know that the second peak of tick activity occurs in the fall. Therefore, you need to plan vaccinations so that after vaccination it takes at least 2 weeks before going to nature, even if the foliage on the trees has already begun to turn yellow.
In addition to encephalitis, ticks carry a huge number of other diseases that the vaccine is not able to protect against. Therefore, experts recommend being careful when in nature. Today, there are a large number of means, by treating the skin with which, you can avoid contact with this dangerous insect.
It is a mistake to believe that only a single injection of the drug can protect a person from an ailment. If a tick bites a person between the first and second vaccinations, you should immediately consult a doctor, as there is a big risk that the medicine has not yet activated the body's defense systems.
It is good to know that an encephalitis vaccine is well compatible with other injections. However, be sure to inform your doctor about other vaccines. In this case, he will put the injection in another place in order to prevent the concentration of drugs in one area of the body. Particular care must be taken when it comes to a small child.