Serious increase in tick bite cases! They live by sucking blood for 15 days: "They are animals that can multiply very quickly"
With the arrival of the summer months, there is a serious increase in tick bite cases throughout Turkey. While the increase in tick cases and the resulting deaths cause anxiety, Bolu Veterinary Chamber President Mehmet Ok warned citizens against the increasing tick cases.
Drawing attention to the increase in the number of cases, Veterinarian Mehmet Ok said, "Ticks, which are the agents of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever , started to be seen in our country in 2002. According to 2025 data, the total number of cases is around 17 thousand. The number of citizens we have lost as a result of these cases is 820. This is based on the data of the Ministry of Health. In 2025, the number of cases is 7 thousand and unfortunately we have lost approximately 15 citizens so far. With the arrival of the summer months, reproduction and population increase in ticks are observed. However, it should be known that this disease agent is not present in every tick species and every tick."
Mehmet Ok, who said that citizens cannot notice a tick bite, said, "The ticks that carry the disease agent are of certain species. There are approximately 900 types of ticks in the world, and approximately 35 of them are seen in Türkiye. However, the tick that carries Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever is a type of tick we call hyalomma marginatum. When these ticks bite us, like mosquitoes, they come into contact with soft tissue and are usually found in soft areas of the body. After this contact, the person cannot notice it because the tick numbs the area with a liquid they secrete from their mouths. If not treated, these ticks can stay in that area for approximately 15 days by sucking blood."
Ok, who said that ticks reproduce quickly, noted that they feed by sucking blood during this process. Ok said, "Ticks are animals that can reproduce very quickly. They can lay about a thousand eggs during the egg-laying period. They can also live in any environment and region; they are not very sensitive to environmental factors such as humidity and temperature. Since they have a wide variety of hosts, they need blood to live and can survive by landing on any animal and sucking blood. Their life cycle consists of 3 parts: Egg, semi-mature period called nymph and mature period. They have to feed by sucking blood in all 3 stages."
Veterinarian Mehmet Ok said, "When we evaluate it in terms of hosts, we can say that gathering street animals may cause ticks to gravitate towards living things that they cannot stick to and suck blood. In this case, they may gravitate towards different species. However, this situation can be controlled with regular control. We can get through this period without any problems with parasitic control that will be carried out on animals approximately every 25 days."
Ok, who also made recommendations for protection from ticks, said, "We ask our people to wear light-colored and long clothes, especially when they go out into open areas and forested areas. We recommend that they scan their bodies for ticks when they return home and perform a manual or visual check. We strongly remind them to contact the nearest health institution in case a tick is detected."
(İHA) This content was published by Sedef Karatay
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