Published Date: 1998-07-18 23:50:00
Subject: PRO/EDR> Tick-borne encephalitis - Russia (Buryaita)
Archive Number: 19980718.1353

TICK-BORNE ENCEPHALITIS - RUSSIA (BURYAITA)
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See Also

Tick-borne encephalitis - Russia (Birobijan) 980607002013
Tick-borne encephalitis - Russia (Birobijan) (02) 980610222906
Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 09:31:49 -0500
Source: Itar-Tass, 16 July, via CNN Custom News
Via: Clyde Markon <docmarkon@worldnet.att.net>

The first fatality caused by an encephalitis-causing tick bite has been
recorded in the Buryat Republic [Buryaita, capital = Ulan Ude; near
Irkutsk, north of the border with Mongolia. A 43-year-old resident in the
republic's Trabagatai district, who was gathering ramsons [a kind of
garlic in the taiga, fell victim to a tick bite. Yet another tick bite
victim, a rural woman is in hospital in serious condition, a source at the
republic sanitary and epidemiological supervision centre said.
The peculiarity of this is in the fact that taiga ticks have increased
their activity in Buryaita in the middle of summer, not at the beginning of
it, as is usually the case.
There is a steep rise, by 50-100 percent more than usual, in the number of
people, who apply to first-aid stations with complaints about tick bites.
Sanitary inspectors blame this on weather. The change [from cold to warm
weather at the beginning of this month resulted in a sharp increase in the
tick population, which local residents describe as unprecedented.
--
ProMED-mail
e-mail: promed@usa.healthnet.org
[When I first read this report on ticks attacking people I had a
recollection of the attack rabbit in Monty Python's "Holy Grail". It
wouldn't have done any good for me to have translated this report from the
original because I do not speak Russian, but it is apparent that the person
who wrote this report writes like I speak Russian (Clyde Markon is
blameless, he only sent the report to ProMED-mail). Here is my translation
from the English: the man died of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), likely
caused by Russian Spring-Summer encephalitis virus, a flavivirus. Note
that the name of the virus includes "summer". On the other hand, coming so
soon after the similar and similarly unclear report about TBE in Birobijan
(northwest of Buryaita and not a great distance away), there must be
something unusual going on with respect to ecologic changes in that region.
If anyone can make a contribution about these changes, please do so. -
Mod.CHC
......................................chc/es
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