According to the law, tick-borne encephalitis vaccination should be given to all citizens of the Russian Federation living in areas with a high risk of disease. This article provides basic information about the vaccine and the features of the procedure.
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What is a tick-borne encephalitis vaccine?
When viral cells enter, the body begins to urgently produce antibodies - specific proteins whose main goal is to eliminate the infection. This process is quite slow, so the virus during this time manages to infect many healthy cells.
Tick-borne encephalitis vaccine was created so that the necessary substances appeared in the blood plasma in advance.
Dead pathogens are introduced into the human body, which cannot provoke the development of the disease. But thanks to this, immunity begins to produce the necessary antibodies to fight antigens. If you have to deal with a live virus, the body is able to quickly produce an adequate reaction, since the blood already has the necessary enzymes.
Indications for vaccination
Residents of cities are especially pleased to go outdoors, take a walk in the forest, lie in the lush green grass. However, such a pastime threatens to become infected with various diseases transmitted by forest ticks.
Living in areas at high risk of infection is a direct indication for vaccination.Residents of other regions can vaccinate on their own.
From the remaining indications:
- work on farms and logging;
- environmental activities;
- hobby for fishing, hunting, traveling;
- business trip to dangerous areas with a forest landscape.
Approximately 85-90% of these parasites are sterile, but no one gives a guarantee that it is not the infected tick that will bite you. The consequences can be very serious. Therefore, the best prevention of tick-borne encephalitis is timely vaccination in compliance with the prescribed safety standards.
Vaccination schedule for children and adults
The tick-borne encephalitis vaccination schedule is as follows:
- The first vaccination is better to do it in advance (in winter), when there is no danger of being bitten by a tick.
- The second - after 5-8 weeks.
- The third - in 10-12 months.
For vaccination to be effective, a minimum of 2 vaccinations must be given within one and a half to two months. The third injection gives immunity for up to 3 years. After this time, the vaccination must be repeated, but with a single injection. In the future, you need to do a repeat procedure every 5 years. If a person missed the deadline, and after the last revaccination more than 6 years have passed, he will have to do it all over again.
Vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis is especially desirable for children, since at an early age the consequences of the disease can be very severe and leave an imprint on all future life.
If a person urgently needs to go to the risk zone, he should better abandon the standard regimen and ask for a ready-made, quick-acting immunoglobulin to be administered. This substance is also urgently administered to people who have suffered from a parasite bite. But such immunity does not last long and lasts a little more than 4 weeks. And also of the shortcomings, it should be mentioned that its effectiveness is relatively lower, and the number of adverse reactions is higher. But in some cases, the use of such a vaccine is the only right solution.
Features of vaccination
The vaccinated adult or child must undergo a thorough examination by the therapist before the procedure, and if necessary, pass the necessary tests. The state of health must be satisfactory.
Immunity after the procedure is not developed immediately, but after about 14 days. Therefore, trips to the forest or field trips should be postponed. But do not be careless: vaccination protects only from encephalitis, and ticks are carriers of various diseases. Therefore, vigilance cannot be lost. When going to the forest zone, you need to take all necessary precautions and choose the right clothes.
Contraindications and side effects
You need to know that not everyone can be given such vaccinations. Many people are allergic to additional vaccine components.
Absolute contraindications:
- acute inflammatory processes;
- blood diseases;
- endocrinological disorders;
- allergy to eggs, meat, formaldehydes;
- oncology;
- severe kidney and heart disease;
- confirmed severe allergic reaction after previous administration of the vaccine.
Pregnancy is not a contraindication, however, without urgent need it is better to refrain from vaccination, since its effect on the fetus has not been studied. The same applies to lactation. If the risk of suffering from a tick bite is minimal, it is better to wait until the baby is one year old. The same applies to early childhood.
The use of childhood vaccines is allowed from 12 months, but it is better to refrain from vaccination up to 2-3 years.
Possible side effects:
- swelling at the injection site;
- redness of the skin;
- pain;
- skin rashes;
- fever;
- general malaise;
- loss of consciousness;
- sleep and appetite disorders;
- swollen lymph nodes;
- increased heart rate;
- diarrhea;
- vomiting, nausea.
Local side effects occur in approximately 5% of vaccinated people. Although such local manifestations, as a rule, do not pose a particular danger to the body and quickly pass.But in such cases, it is better to consult a doctor and inform him of this. A specialist may advise taking an anesthetic or antiallergic drug.
If the general post-vaccination reaction has a negative effect on human health, it makes sense to think about whether to continue the vaccination further. In most cases, the second and third vaccinations are easier to tolerate than the first, however, the risk of unwanted adverse reactions still remains high.
Vaccination reactions and complications
The vaccine response can be unpredictable, therefore it is very important to monitor the health and well-being of the vaccinated patient on the first day.
Of the complications most commonly encountered:
- Quincke's edema;
- disturbances in the work of the heart;
- vascular pathology.
They rarely occur, and their main reason is ignorance of contraindications or incorrect immunization. Therefore, vaccinations can only be done in specialized institutions.
It is better not to combine different vaccinations, and not to do them at the same time.
This increases the likelihood of complications. The minimum interval between vaccinations should be at least a month.
Types of tick-borne encephalitis vaccines
In the Russian Federation, 4 types of vaccines are allowed, of which two are domestic and two are made in Europe:
- The most common is a concentrated inactivated dry vaccine. The strain 205 virus is propagated in chicken embryo cells.
- Encevir.
- Austrian FSME-Immun.
- Vaccine Enzepur (separately for adults and children) made in Germany.
All drugs are equally effective. By the principle of action, they are similar, but imported analogues are better tolerated. The benefit of vaccination is assessed by a blood test: if the necessary antibodies appear in the body, then everything worked. Tolerance of these vaccines is satisfactory. And in cases of the occurrence of the disease in vaccinated people, it passes more easily and does not entail serious complications.
