The approach of summer means the return of ticks. Public Health France is warning of the presence of a new species, Hyalomma marginatum, spotted in 11 departments in the south-east of France: Pyrénées-Orientales, Aude, Hérault, Gard, Ardèche, Drôme, Alpes-Maritimes, Var, Bouches-du-Rhône, Haute-Corse, Corse-du-Sud. And this is not good news, because in addition to transmitting Lyme disease, this mite can carry the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus.
Recognizable by its striped legs
The Hyalomma marginatum is commonly nicknamed “the giant tick”. A very exaggerated nickname but which is due to its relatively larger size than its congeners. It measures approximately eight millimeters compared to three millimeters on average for other species.
Recognizable by its striped legs, it was spotted on French territory for the first time in 2015. Since then, it has settled in 11 departments in the south-east of France, in particular because of global warming, explains Professor Gérard Duvallet, medical entomologist and parasitologist. “It is a tick that comes from the Sahel, it could have been imported by migratory birds and it first settled, to my knowledge, in Montpellier. From there, it spread a little everywhere,” he specifies.
Until now, the “giant tick” was present in certain regions of North Africa or Turkey, as well as in Spain, Italy, and the Balkans. According to data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), it was identified in August 2023 in around ten additional departments, mainly in the Provence-Alpes-Côtes d’Azur region, but also in Landes, Charente, Indre-et-Loire and Loiret.
Symptoms that should alert you: fever, chills, digestive problems…
This tick attaches itself to certain animals such as horses and cattle and can accidentally attach itself to humans. “When you get bitten by a tick, you have 48 hours to remove it with a tick remover, which can be found in pharmacies, to avoid the transmission of pathogens, viruses or bacteria,” says Gérard Duvallet. To avoid being bitten, the professor recommends wearing light-coloured clothing that covers your legs and arms as well as closed shoes.
If the tick is carrying the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, the signs that should alert you are fever, chills, digestive problems, and in rare cases, serious forms with uncontrolled bleeding. In 5 to 30% of cases, the bite can be fatal, but entomologist Gérard Duvallet is reassuring, “you are not infected with every tick bite”. To date, no human cases have been diagnosed in France, but around ten cases have already been recorded among our Spanish neighbors.
