Pointing out that the incidence of lyme disease caused by insidiously biting ticks has increased as the weather warms up, people are more in rural areas, Prof. Immunology and Allergy Diseases Specialist. Dr. Ali Kutlu said, “Lyme disease manifests itself with the redness it forms in the area bitten by various insects, especially ticks, within a few days. If this redness is not noticed or postponed, it can cause many different complaints such as weakness, muscle, joint, headaches, nerve palsies, depression in people.
CASE WITHOUT TREATMENT GET CHRONIC
prof. Dr. Ali Kutlu said that lyme disease, whose nature and damage to society is not fully understood, and where there is intense debate about its importance in the scientific community, concerns physicians in almost every branch.
Stating that the tick bite is a spreading infestation, it causes many different complaints with its insidious and long-term course, Prof. Dr. Ali Kutlu said, “Nearly all of the patients who develop a unique skin lesion after a tick bite recover with appropriate treatment at an early stage. About 20 percent of untreated cases become chronic and leave permanent damage as the disease progresses.
MAY BE MIXED WITH OTHER DISEASES
Emphasizing that Lyme disease can be easily overlooked and that the disease is called a silent pandemic of the northern hemisphere, Prof. Dr. Ali Kutlu said that while 400 thousand acute cases are detected annually in the USA, the number detected in our country is only around 80-90. prof. Dr. Ali Kutlu shared the following information about this dangerous disease:
“Lyme disease manifests itself with the redness that some stinging insects, especially ticks, form in the bite area within a few days. Classical laboratory tests, which are known as the great imitator, can be confused with hundreds of diseases, cause many different complaints such as weakness, muscle, joint, headaches, nerve palsies, depression, poison the life of the patients for years, and detect the presence of antibodies in the blood, which we trust very much, are insufficient in the diagnosis. It is an easily overlooked disease. While the number of new cases diagnosed in our country does not exceed one finger, according to some physicians, this disease is expected to be seen in approximately 7 million people, according to an estimation to be made based on the figures in the USA. Because the complaints of the patients are very similar to the complaints of different diseases and it is not usually possible to diagnose with classical diagnostic methods or laboratory tests for antibodies, physicians cannot diagnose a large part of these patients. It would not be wrong to say that we can only see the tip of the iceberg for the number of patients diagnosed.”
TICKS’ LIVING AREAS CAN EXPAND WITH RISING TEMPERATURES
prof. Dr. Ali Kutlu; He underlined that with global warming, the habitat of ticks has expanded, people’s spending more time in the countryside for sporting or social purposes, and the prevalence of keeping pets at home may cause the increase of lyme disease.
EXAMINATION IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR DIAGNOSIS
Expressing that dark field microscopy and advanced immunological tests by an experienced physician are very important in diagnosis, Prof. Dr. Ali Kutlu concluded his statement as follows:
“The Black Sea Region where I work is almost the homeland of ticks. When you think of tick-related disease, Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Disease comes to mind first, but ticks can cause many different health problems. For example, as an allergist, alpha-gal syndrome, a strange red meat allergy associated with ticks, is very common in our region. However, in terms of alpha-gal syndrome, our country is not known as one of the places where this syndrome is most common in the world. New data show that this disease, which is caused by ticks, is very intense in the Black Sea. Similarly, although there is no study related to the prevalence of Lyme disease in our region, many hidden cases are expected. In summary; We should care about the complaints that occur after a tick or insect bite, and we should not think that it will correct itself. If these complaints are not treated with the correct diagnosis in time, they easily turn into rapidly progressing and chronic diseases, and then the treatment process becomes much more difficult. For this reason, it is necessary to act carefully about the severity and prevalence of diseases caused by ticks. (UAV)