A new general public information site, put online on Monday June 5, shows that we are in the middle of tick bite season.
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Know this: a tick has eight legs, no antenna, no wings and it measures only a few millimeters. At this time, it is better to protect yourself with a carpet or clothing when sitting in the grass or walking in the forest, because ticks can transmit certain diseases via bacteria.
>> Diseases: the tick, vector of Lyme disease
Last year, 11,000 tick bites were reported to the National Research Institute for Agriculture and the Environment (Inrae) with a maximum at least in June. Although most bites occur in the forest, a quarter of tick bites occur at home: 22% in gardens, and even 4% inside the home.
This summary was made possible thanks to the data that INRAE scientists have been collecting since 2017 through the “citic” participatory science program. The general public can now view the results and better map the presence of ticks in France on the Inrae “ticks tracker” site. It should be noted that ticks are more present in the east and in the center of France.
Lyme disease
It is estimated that one in six ticks carry the bacteria responsible for Lyme disease. In this case, a red spot appears on the skin a few days after the bite, which widens over time. In the absence of antibiotic treatment, the disease can sometimes cause lesions on the skin, muscle or neurological damage.
This is why if you spot a tick attached to the skin, you have to detach it as quickly as possible with pliers or your fingernails by turning it as if you were unscrewing it, because the sooner the tick is removed, the less there is a risk that it transmits an infectious agent. In Europe, the tick is also the first vector of disease from animals to humans.