During the Tick Season - How to Protect Yourself Against Tick Bites? Tips from Chief State Health Inspector

In the season when ticks are active, it is recommended to wear a hat, long-sleeved shirt, and long pants to avoid an unpleasant encounter with the parasite. Additionally, it is important to remove the tick quickly if it attaches to your skin, explained the Chief State Health Inspector, Associate Professor Dr. Angel Kunchev, in an interview on the BNT "The Day Begins" programme on April 28.

“It’s important to wear clothing that covers the skin sufficiently to prevent the tick from attaching directly. This means long sleeves, long pants, hats, and so on. This is still possible now, but in a month, it will probably not be as pleasant with the rising temperatures. And most importantly, a body check, which usually happens in the bathroom when we go to shower and find a tick on the most delicate areas, in the folds, where the skin is thinnest. Ticks prefer to attach here because it’s easiest and quickest for them to feed on blood,” noted Associate Professor Kunchev.

According to him, many of the measures should be focused on pets.

"Most of the measures regarding ticks are aimed at pets because they are the most common carriers. I myself was walking around the country last week, not in a populated area, with a dog, and we found 2-3 ticks upon our return. So, pets bring ticks very close to humans. Of course, areas where ticks are common are characterised by vegetation, bushes, high grass, and places with many livestock because they are the main target for ticks. They mostly feed on cattle, sheep, goats, etc. These are the places where the concentration is highest."

Timely and effective treatment against ticks in residential areas yields results, but the presence of a large number of stray dogs worsens the problem.

"They are, as we call them, 'taxis'—the link between the wild world and the urban environment. They usually bring ticks from more remote areas into the city centers, into parks, and as long as their numbers remain high, the fight will not be very effective. Of course, if we talk about individual people, there are many ways to help. Starting with treatments for pets when we take them out; there are pills and drops that can be applied to repel ticks."

Ticks can be carriers of dangerous diseases such as Lyme disease and Mediterranean spotted fever.

"Lyme disease is more widespread and has seen a noticeable resurgence in recent years. Mediterranean spotted fever is also present but tends to be localized in specific regions, such as the Maritsa and Struma river valleys and the southern Black Sea coast, and is less common elsewhere. Lyme borreliosis is treatable, especially when diagnosed early, as it typically responds well to standard antibiotic therapy. However, early diagnosis can be challenging due to its often non-specific symptoms.

One of the more severe complications is neuroborreliosis—neurological damage caused by untreated Lyme disease—which can manifest several years after the initial tick bite and is much more difficult to treat at that stage. For this reason, some countries, including ours to a certain extent, have adopted a precautionary approach: if a tick bite is confirmed, a physician may prescribe antibiotics immediately without waiting for test results, in order to minimize the risk of complications.

That said, not every tick bite warrants antibiotic treatment. Most ticks are not carriers of disease. Older studies suggest that in some regions, the infection rate among ticks may reach 10–20%, but it is generally lower. Therefore, there's no need for panic if a tick is found on you or your child. What matters most is prompt removal—the sooner the tick is taken out, the lower the risk of infection."