• bob_lemon@feddit.org
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    13 hours ago

    Do ticks in America not carry encephalitis (like they do in central/eastern Europe)?Because that’s way more dangerous than Lyme disease. I find it weird that it isn’t mentioned at all, nor the vaccination against it.

    • altphoto@lemmy.today
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      6 hours ago

      Oh that’s great. Fantastic. Can someone please feel the need to bring one of these into the country for observation or whatever people bring ticks for?

      That’s one thing this country needs desperately right now… Some big problem or some sort. We’ve apparently ran out of problems and are actively looking for them as we speak.

    • kautau@lemmy.world
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      11 hours ago

      I would go to the CDC to check but that’s been deleted. We’ve solved it by removing the webpage

      https://www.cdc.gov/tick-borne-encephalitis/index.html

      I’m kidding, but it certainly seems to be a thing that people should be aware of.

      That being said I think the scary thing about Lyme disease is the symptoms aren’t crazy strong at the beginning, and easy to misattribute if you miss the tick. But if you don’t treat it early it can really fuck you up.

      I got bit by a tick years ago when I was 16, right above my belt buckle. Had a generalized rash, and my doctor said it was because of an allergic reaction to my belt buckle and prescribed me steroid cream. Basically had to demand a Lyme test just in case and tested positive.

      • bob_lemon@feddit.org
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        8 hours ago

        Dang, what a shitty doctor.

        Although I think my perspective is a bit skewed, having grown up in a tick hotspot here in Germany. Everyone is aware of ticks here, pretty sure it’s taught in elementary school. And the encephalitis vaccine is pretty much standard, too.

      • IphtashuFitz@lemmy.world
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        7 hours ago

        There is no vaccine for Lyme that’s available to the public. Hopefully there will be one soon though. My wife and I have been volunteering for a Lyme vaccine trial for the past two years.

      • bob_lemon@feddit.org
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        7 hours ago

        It’s probably a good general advice to ask your doctor for “local” vaccinations whenever you move.

        The encephalitis vaccine is very common here in southern Germany, but usually skipped in the north where ticks are quite uncommon (which is reasonable, since it’s pretty aggressive, being sick for a day or two after the jab is not unlikely).