The high temperatures of summer have brought ticksan arthropod capable of transmitting more than 50 different diseases with its bite.
These are parasites that reside in a large number of wild and domestic animals, feeding on the blood of their hosts and They are much more dangerous to humans than is believed.since, according to Fernando de la Calle, a specialist in the Imported Pathology and International Health Unit of Hospital La Paz, “the number of people who go to the hospital for this cause is increasing.”
In Spain, with six species of ticks registered by the European Center for Disease Control, the most important diseases for human health are mainly bacterial, such as Lyme disease, button fever, anaplasmosis or tularemia, and parasitic, such as babesiosis.
Viral diseases must be added to the list, such as encephalitis and hemorrhagic fever caused by the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, which has a mortality of 30% without treatment.
Doctor De la Calle has warned that “in recent years” it has detected “an increase in consultations for tick bites”. “Now we are in a strong period, after atypical years due to the pandemic and with the recovery of mobility,” explained the specialist.