Warning from an expert against ticks: Prefer closed clothing

Drawing attention to the months of June and August in particular, Erzincan Mengücek Gazi Education and Research Hospital Infectious Diseases Clinical Microbiology Department Head and Turkish Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (KLİMİK) Association Board Member Prof. Dr. Faruk Karakeçili said, "We have 18 positive patients, we still have 6 cases with no results. We have no patients who died this year. We have patients with deaths from neighboring provinces. We currently have 6 suspected patients in our hospital. One of them is definitely positive, the results of the others are awaited." Stating that high numbers have been reached in the last three years, Prof. Dr. Faruk Karakeçili said, "We are already expecting this. We are currently in June, June 15 and July are the months we expect high levels. The tick population is very high this year. If our citizens are exposed to ticks, they should immediately apply to a hospital to have the tick removed if they are close. If they are too far from the hospital and cannot reach it, we recommend that they remove the tick quickly, but not with their bare hands, or with a pair of tweezers by putting a bag in their hand if they do not have gloves or gloves."

Emphasizing that covered clothing should definitely be preferred in rural areas, Faruk Karakeçili said, "Wear closed shoes and put your trouser legs inside your socks. Because ticks come from the ground and settle on us. We also need to check our bodies frequently to see if ticks have stuck to our bodies. These are really important precautions. If we are going to or staying in rural areas, we can buy medicines that are sprayed on our trousers and used against ticks from pharmacies."

Karakeçili, particularly emphasizing partridges, said, "Partridges are very important. Partridges are like the biggest enemy for ticks. Partridges feed mainly on ticks, partridge hunting should actually be banned. The tick population has increased a lot, especially in recent years."

Karakeçili made the following suggestions for citizens who encounter a tick; "Citizens who encounter a tick should not panic too much. If the tick is in a remote place, it should be removed appropriately with tweezers since it needs to be removed early. We definitely do not want it to be removed with bare hands. Our Ministry of Health is making announcements about ticks with different posters. There are also posts on social media. Ticks are creatures with eight legs and a hard head structure. Citizens can distinguish ticks by this shape, we recommend that those who cannot distinguish them apply to the nearest health institution."