Tick bite rate: the number of parasite bites has increased several times in a week
Ticks have already woken up in almost 50 Russian regions, according to data from the territorial bodies of Rospotrebnadzor. In a number of regions, for example, in the Smolensk region, their activity increased fivefold in a week. Laboratories, where residents of the country include stuck arthropods, also reported a rapid increase in referrals: in some cases, in the first week of April, the number of tests performed exceeded the figures for the whole of March. Traditionally, the greatest tick activity is recorded in May-June, but this year it began much earlier. Where dangerous arthropods have already woken up and how to protect yourself from them — in the Izvestia article.
In which regions ticks have woken up
As of early April, ticks had woken up in 47 regions, Izvestia calculated, analyzing data from the territorial bodies of Rospotrebnadzor. They usually become active in May and June, but this year the "season" has shifted. Even in January 2025, almost one hundred tick bites were registered in six Russian regions — Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories, Crimea, Sevastopol, Rostov and Kaliningrad regions.
Currently, the largest number of requests for medical care has been registered in the Stavropol Territory. According to the regional Department of Rospotrebnadzor, 154 people were bitten by ticks from March 31 to April 6.
100 or more requests for medical help due to tick bites were registered in the Tyumen, Kurgan, Samara, Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow and Vologda regions.
"The figure is higher than last year's figure for the same period due to the warm, low-snow winter and early thaw," the Department of Rospotrebnadzor in the Moscow region noted.
The Nizhny Novgorod Region Department also stressed that the number of applicants has tripled compared to the same period in 2024. And in the Smolensk region, a fivefold increase was noted in the period from March 31 to April 6 compared to the previous week.
The website of the Department of Rospotrebnadzor for Karachay-Cherkessia reports that "a decrease in the tick population in 2025 is not predicted."
In 12 regions, after laboratory tests, the pathogens of ixodic tick-borne borreliosis were detected in the ticks brought for analysis, according to reports from the regional departments of Rospotrebnadzor. Among them, for example, Moscow and St. Petersburg, Irkutsk, Moscow and Novgorod regions, Crimea, Udmurtia, Mari El and Perm Krai.
Carriers of tick-borne viral encephalitis and human monocytic ehrlichiosis have also been identified in the Perm Region. And in Altai, there are carriers of tick—borne typhus.
Izvestia sent a request to Rospotrebnadzor with a request to name which regions have the highest tick activity and whether to expect a significant increase in the number of bites due to the warm weather compared to previous years.
In laboratories, there is an explosive increase in demand for tick analysis
In January 2025, 65% more ticks were brought to the Hemotest offices for testing than in December 2024, the company told Izvestia.
— In February, the increase compared to January was 24%. A sharp increase in the number of complaints was also registered in March: 15 times more ticks were brought to laboratory departments than in February, they added.
Hemotest clarified that in January of this year, 46% more ticks were delivered to the laboratory departments than in the same month of 2024.
— But in February 2025, the number of ticks brought decreased by 46% compared to the same period last year. The March figure increased three and a half times compared to last year," the laboratory said. — And in the first week of April, 50% of the total number of ticks received for the whole of March were already brought to the laboratory departments of Hemotest.
Invitro also noted an explosive increase in ticks since the beginning of April. The laboratory said that over the eight days of April, it received more than 1.3 thousand ticks for research, while for the whole of March there were 808 applications, and for February — 39. In 2024, 42 ticks were received for research in February, 146 in March, and 434 for the whole of April, the laboratory added.
According to the company, in April of this year, the Ural Federal District, Moscow and the Moscow Region were the leaders among the regions in terms of the number of requests. The lowest number of appeals was recorded in the Far Eastern Federal District.
The warm winter has increased the chances of ticks surviving the cold, so their activity began earlier, and the number may increase compared to last year, Roman Merkulov, an epidemiologist at the UNI Clinic Medical Center, told Izvestia.
"This may lead to an increase in the number of bites in the current season compared to 2024, especially in regions with a mild climate," he added.
How to protect yourself from tick bites
To protect against tick bites, you need to choose light-colored closed clothing when walking in the woods, parks or when traveling to the country, Ekaterina Demyanovskaya, a neurologist at the Hemotest laboratory, reminded.
— You need to wear high socks so that you can tuck your trousers in. It is also better to wear a shirt tucked in," Ekaterina Demyanovskaya said. — At home, after a stay in nature, you should examine yourself, your loved ones, as well as pets.
Favorite tick—sucking areas are the armpits, groin, neck, and scalp, she recalled.
Also, according to the expert, it is important to use special anti-mite repellents.
If the tick managed to stick during the walk, you need to contact the nearest emergency room or a surgeon, the neurologist noted.
— And if this is not possible, you need to try to pull out the tick yourself, gently twisting it counterclockwise with a special pincer or simple tweezers as close to the skin as possible, — she added.
Then, according to the doctor, the bite site should be washed with soap and antiseptic applied, and the tick itself should be placed in a moist, airtight container with air access and taken to a laboratory for analysis.
Ekaterina Demyanovskaya stressed that regardless of the results of the study, it is necessary to consult a doctor, and also recalled the importance of vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
