 | Wikivoyage is not a doctor: the medical information provided on Wikivoyage is general in nature at best and cannot substitute for the advice of a legally authorized healthcare professional. more... |
| Lyme disease | |
 | |
| Hard-bodied ticks (Ixodes ricinus) males seen from below and above | |
| Information | |
| Region (s) | rural or forest areasAsia, ofNorth America and D'Europe |
|---|---|
| Cause | Bacteriosis (Borrelia) |
| Vector | Tick, flea, gadfly |
| Contagiousness |  no |
| CIM-10 | A69.2 |
| CIM-9 | 088.81 |
| Handicap: | arthritis, encephalitis, polyneuropathy |
| Prophylaxis: | |
| * vaccine | Man : no animal:  Yes |
| * medication | no |
| Therapy: | Yes |
| Location | |
 | |
| Lyme disease endemic area | |
 Medical warning | |
The Lyme disease is a bacteriosis transmitted mainly by the bite of a tick, but fleas and horseflies can also be vectors. It is also the vector disease most common in the northern hemisphere.
Understand
Vector protection
Avoiding Lyme disease means avoiding tick bites first by taking a few precautions.
Pets
- Provide them with an anti-tick collar, most of them are also anti-fleas. There are also fly collars based on geraniol for horses which can provide some protection for the front part of the animal;
- use an antiparasitic shampoo;
- spray or sprinkle dogs or horses with a suitable insecticide or repellant. Be aware that cats are extremely sensitive to chemicals and it is best to seek advice from a veterinarian first.
Note that these precautions are not always sufficient, because the larvae are at the limit of visibility (1 to 2 mm) and their bite is painless.
In the garden
- Mow tall grass;
- regularly pick up dead leaves;
- surround children's play areas with a gravel buffer zone;
- avoid the intrusions of animals, domestic or not, these can be carriers of ticks.
In natural area
- Stay in the middle of the paths and avoid high risk areas such as tall grass, areas of bushes or thickets;
- wear long pants slipped into socks and closed-toe shoes. In forest areas, wear a long-sleeved shirt with closed cuff buttons and, for children or people not exceeding 1.5 meter, wear either a cap or a hat with a handkerchief to protect the neck or a hood;
- use a repellent spray based on geraniol or a pyrethrin, taking care that it does not come into contact with the skin of infants or pregnant women.
Protection against borrelia
As of 2018, there is no prophylactic drug or vaccine against Lyme disease for humans. However, there are veterinary vaccines, especially for dogs but not for cats or horses, either based on the whole bacteria killed (the LymeVax), or on subunits made up of surface proteins of this bacterium (the Galaxy lyme and the Canine Recombinant Lyme).
A vaccine, the LYMErix, was marketed in 1998 but withdrawn from the market in 2002 because its protective effect was too short-lived but also following rumors, which turned out to be unfounded, associating the vaccine with the appearance of arthritis. A vaccine candidate, "VLA15", is under study by the European biotechnology company Valneva SE.
