Do not think that flax bite causes more health problems – NRK Sørlandet – Local News, TV and Radio

Health problems such as muscle and skeletal pains, stomach and throat problems, as well as fatigue and dizziness due to ticks have long been discussed.

As part of the TickVa research project, the researchers tried to determine if this was the case. They examined the population of Søgne in West Agder, a region with a lot of ticks and ticks.

"We find that the inhabitants of Søgne are less bothered by fatigue and have fewer or as many health problems as the rest of the population," said Erik Thomas Thortveit, doctor of neurology department at Sørlandet Hospital. the HF hospital.

He is the head of the research project.

People bitten by ticks, reporting several ills

According to Chief Medical Officer Erik Thomas Thortveit, another interesting discovery has also been made.

He says those who have been bitten by ticks or who have had a flat-tail skin infection report slightly more health problems than others.

Scientists do not think this necessarily means that bites or infections cause more health problems.

"We think it may be due to the fact that it's easy to tie ticks to unexplained health problems if you live in an area where there are a lot of ticks," he says. says Thortveit.

He points out that they can not deny that plagues are related to ticks.

Not surprised

Traditionally, there has been Borrelia bacteria and TBE virus associated with ticks.

Thortveit says that in recent years, there have been discovered other bacteria that can also be infected with a foul bite.

This will be searched more. The researchers will discover what is their importance for the human disease. The result is expected for next year.

The head of research is not surprised at the results so far.

"After what we know about tattooed infections today, it rarely gives us what we call unspecified ailments – most often, it gives more concrete symptoms," he says. .

3500 people in Søgne have had blood tests. 3000 answered a complete questionnaire. This is the data of this, the preliminary results are based.