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After the discovery of several cases of tick-borne encephalitis in different parts of England, British health authorities sounded the alert. But should we fear the same scenario in France? The point with Bertrand Pasquet, president of the ChroniLyme Association.
Faced with the spread of this potentially deadly tick-borne virus, the UK Health Security Agency has issued a new “risk assessment”released by a government committee.
A potentially deadly virus
Since 2019, England has recorded three probable or confirmed cases of tick-borne encephalitis.
If the figure seems low, it is no less worrying because “the species of tick carrying the virus is widespread in the UK”.
“There have been 3 cases of probable or confirmed tick-borne encephalitis acquired in England since 2019, including one linked to the Yorkshire region in 2022. This case in 2022 is the first confirmed case in England. The virus has also previously been detected in the border areas of Hampshire and Dorset, as well as Norfolk and Suffolk, but may also be present elsewhere as the species of tick carrying the virus is widespread in the UK“, thus specifies the press release.
The problem ? The tick-borne virus causes many symptoms, ranging from completely asymptomatic infection to mild flu-like illness to severe central nervous system infection (meningitis or encephalitis).
When severe, the infection may be accompanied by a stiff neck, convulsions, sudden confusion, agitation, photosensitivity (sun allergy), drowsiness, delirium, muscle tone disorders or loss of balance.
In 2 to 3% of cases, the disease is fatal, according to the site Vaccination info service.
Should we be worried about an upsurge in cases in France?
If the tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is already present in “many countries in Europe”, specifies the press release, the number of cases detected in France remains low – but increasing.
“Since 2021, tick-borne encephalitis has been a notifiable disease in France. Any doctor who finds a case must therefore report it, because the disease can have serious, even fatal consequences. For several years, there has been worryingly observed a migration of ticks arriving in the East of France: in Alsace, Lorraine, Haute-Savoie, Ain… The number of cases remains low, but is increasing. There was also a very interesting focus of cases in Ain in 2020. In total, 43 people were infected with the virus after consuming unpasteurized goat cheese. The goats had previously been bitten by ticks – themselves infected with encephalitis. This virus is therefore causing concern and rightly so, because it is spreading and requires increased surveillance.“, says Bertrand Pasquet, president of the ChroniLyme Association.
The President of the Association ChroniLyme also recalls that if the number of cases linked to tick-borne encephalitis remains “minor”, Lyme disease leads, for its part, to thousands of infections each year.
A situation that is not enough”taken seriously“by the government and which is worsening due to”current failures in the healthcare system“.
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