According to specialists, it is part of the "health emergencies" of our time, and remains largely "underestimated". Lyme disease, caused by tick bites , causes new victims every year. These small parasites, now common in Europe, peddle indeed pathogenic bacteria - Borrelia - which carry the disease (or borreliosis Lyme).

Once infected, it is necessary to react quickly: this infection is treated quickly if it is detected at the early stage.

Nearly 30,000 new cases a year in France

Ticks are more and more numerous in France. To gorge themselves with blood, they watch in the woods and meadows, but also now in the gardens of cities, especially in Alsace, Normandy, Limousin and Ile-de-France. And if they carry Borrelia, Lyme disease lurks.

The Sentinelles surveillance network records 25,000 to 30,000 new cases a year. This observation is however undoubtedly below the reality: " 70% of infected people have no memory of having been bitten by a tick, " says Professor Christian Perronne, head of the infectiology department of the hospital Poincaré in Garches.

Symptoms to be taken seriously

If you see on your skin a red spot that widens in a circle (an erythema migrans), you should immediately consult. This is the first sign of Lyme disease. But he is not always spotted.

A fever, ganglia or a great tiredness appearing after a walk in the nature must therefore also alert.

Many doctors start by asking for a serological screening test (Elisa) before prescribing an adequate antibiotic treatment. But as this test is not always relevant (it does not detect all types of Borrelia in particular), describe your symptoms well to benefit from treatment in case of doubt, even if the dosage is negative.

Sequelae sometimes important

When it is not stopped in time, Lyme disease can cause dramatic sequelae: " joint pain , paralysis of the face , memory and concentration problems , ocular manifestations, palpitations ...", explains Dr. Richard Horowitz, internist and author of "Care for Lyme and unexplained chronic diseases" (Thierry Souccar).

The diagnosis is not easy to establish because these symptoms are not specific. They can evoke other diseases. As a result, people with Lyme disease are sometimes referred to psychiatrists or mistaken for fibromyalgia.

Some patients wander for several years before being properly cared for in order to eradicate the infection.

"A gigantic fatigue nailed me to bed 16 hours a day"

"My health deteriorated overnight: unbearable pain heart problems, bloody eyes and especially a gigantic fatigue that bedridden me 16 hours per day, recalls Juduth Albertat, author of" Lyme, natural solutions "( Thierry Souccar). I consulted 37 doctors who, because of a lack of diagnosis, told me to go see a psychiatrist. But I did not give up. Finally, I had a lot of antibiotic treatments (22 months), with embellishments and relapses. And today I am almost out of business.

How to protect yourself?

To avoid getting tainted, do not walk in the forest or in tall grass without closed shoes, tight pants on ankles and long sleeves because ticks are on the lookout for every cm ² of skin to bare. On the way back, examine your skin, especially in the armpits, knees, groin and scalp.

If you see a tick, dislodge it with a tick-tick (sold in a pharmacy) or a tweezers if you do a slow circular motion.

For some months, there have been self-diagnosis kits for Borrelia infection, (Alere 15 €, Medisur 18 € and EasyHome 21,50 €), available in pharmacies without prescription. But their reliability is also not total.

In addition, a collective action has just been launched against some laboratories that market screening blood tests, deemed unreliable by a hundred plaintiffs.