Summer is fast approaching, accompanied by the famous summer vacation period. While some will choose to move away from France, others may decide to stay in France in order to discover the regional riches. This summer period is often associated with insects that are more or less dangerous to human health.
Among these critters, ticks are devastating, especially in wooded or mountainous areas. Since 2017, the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE) has set up an online tool to protect against tick bites. The platform called Citique-Tracker makes it possible to record, monitor and even analyze the evolution of bites in France.
Last year, 11,000 tick bites were reported by the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE), with a peak in June. Although forests pose a great risk of stings, a quarter of them occur at home, with 22% in gardens compared to 4% inside the home.
It is estimated that nearly one in six ticks carry bacteria that cause Lyme disease. If this is your case, in just a few days you will see a red spot appear on your skin. In order to avoid any serious form (lesions on the skin, muscular or even neurological damage), treatment with antibiotics is the best defense.
In other cases, it is possible to spot a tick attached to your skin. Detaching it before it penetrates will prevent you from developing an infectious agent. It should be noted that the tick is the first vector of disease from animals to humans.
Discover now in our slideshow, which of the 13 French regions is the most affected by tick bites according to Citique-Tracker.