The Military Medical Institute has been conducting a task to prevent and treat cleft diseases among soldiers serving on the east border since the end of July. After summing up the first 2 months of “Operation Boreliosis” WIM emphasizes the request to control the body for ticks, observe symptoms after a bite and start treatment as shortly as possible.
Soldiers on patrol at the border.
Prepared by Military Medical Institute – State investigation Institute prevention and treatment programme for depressive diseases “Operation of Lyme disease” intended for soldiers and officers serving on the east border. Since Podlasie and the full north-east of Poland are threatened by more frequent ticks and higher morbidity of their disease, a strategy of solutions has been introduced to defend soldiers from these threats. The program started at the end of July this year.
As he said during his inauguration General weapon prof. n. med. Grzegorz Gielerak, the manager of WIM, the initiative includes prevention, treatment, epidemiological monitoring and genetic investigating of ticks for the hazard of transmission of infectious diseases to humans. The investigation programme is implemented jointly with the Faculty of Biology of the University of Warsaw. The first diagnosis by WIM-PIB doctors is carried out by means of a form that soldiers fill out in a peculiar mobile application. They give their data and detailed information on the symptoms they have noticed after being bitten by a tick. They can take a image of the bite site and send it for consultation. In response, they receive recommendations for further treatment and treatment.
The first 2 months of the task were now initially summarised. According to the WIM, 132 surveys were sent within it. Unfortunately, this is simply a tiny percent of respective 1000 soldiers and officers stationed at the border, many of whom have most likely been bitten by ticks during this period. The request to disseminate information on ‘Operation Borreliosis’ and to remind the military that the survey is anonymous and that the data provided in it are only utilized by WIM for medical purposes was so highlighted.
According to WIM studies, as many as 90% of the soldiers pointed to the difficulty in identifying the minute of the bite. “This difficulty is due to the fact that ticks during the puncture origin a local anesthetic reaction. Therefore, it is crucial to act on the importance of body control after tick exposure" - stressed the analysis.
In 90% of tick cases it was possible to remove, unfortunately all tenth arachnid was not pulled out entirely. “This may pose a wellness hazard to the injured individual and should be the subject of peculiar attention from the medical services,” says Mariusz Gierej, WIM spokesman.
Lyme illness frequently starts with a characteristic erythema, which occurs in about 80% of the infected. In the study, erythema did not appear in 78% of cases, 19% observed it and 3% were uncertain. – It is worth to keep an eye on the injection site, due to the fact that the erythema may appear up to a period after the prick – the WIM representatives appeal.
The researchers concerned, however, about the deficiency (up to 92% of cases) of waiting for soldiers to give teleconsultation after sending a notification. “This is simply a harmful phenomenon, mainly due to the deficiency of trust of patients,” says Gierej. It is so crucial in the further stages of the task to show the benefits of utilizing telemedicine solutions and encourage the usage of teleconsultation. – Boreliosis can be treated, but early diagnosis is crucial, and the treatment can be started as shortly as possible – said Deputy Prime Minister, National Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz during the inauguration of the project.
According to WIM spokesman, 1 of the achievements of “Operation Boreliosis” is that the respondents study a sting even erstwhile the erythema did not appear. “The continuation of the project, as well as the planned and implemented subsequent steps, seem to aid improve the wellness situation of soldiers, so WIM plans to carry out the task continuously, with peculiar emphasis on seasonality in this area,” adds Gierej.
Boreliosis is simply a illness caused by bacteria carried by ticks. It is estimated that about 10-30% of ticks may be carriers of ticks. In Poland, the number of patients with Lyme illness is growing. According to the National Institute of Public wellness – the State Department of Hygiene this year, more than 22,000 cases of Lyme illness were reported by September 30. In the same period of the erstwhile year there were about 19,3 thousand.
