Bite and point: ticks have woken up in at least 64 regions of Russia
Since the beginning of the year, more than 1.5 thousand people have applied to medical laboratories with tick bites, Izvestia found out. In April, such cases were recorded by 61% more than in March. Arthropods have become more active in most of the country: their "attacks" have already been recorded in 64 regions of the country, according to reports from Rospotrebnadzor offices. Over the past 10-15 years, there have been about three times as many ticks in Russia, experts say. And this year they woke up a month earlier because of the snowy winter and the early warming. About how ticks are expanding their range and what new dangerous species are appearing in Russia, see the Izvestia article.
Where the ticks attack
The number of ticks that Russians brought to specialized laboratories for research in April 2026 increased by 61% compared to March, experts from the Invitro Index project told Izvestia. Since the beginning of the year, more than 1.5 thousand Russians have applied for such tests.
According to experts, the largest number of appeals in April was recorded in the Urals. Moscow is in second place, followed by the Central and Volga Federal Districts. The lowest rates were recorded in the Far East, Crimea and the North Caucasus.
According to the Hemotest laboratory, only a few ticks were brought to the study in January. This happened in the Altai, Krasnodar Territory, Crimea, Rostov and Tula regions, and Moscow. In February, the number of arthropods was also small, but ticks from the Krasnodar Territory and the Tula region were found to have borreliosis.
In March, the number increased 20-fold. Borreliosis was found in 13% of the ticks brought in, anaplasmosis in 6%, and ehrlichiosis in 1%. The number of arthropods brought to the laboratory in the first week of April has already reached half of the total number for the whole of March. Borreliosis was found in 19% of the ticks brought in March, and anaplasmosis in 3%. Tick-borne encephalitis has not yet been identified.
In general, according to Izvestia estimates based on official reports from local authorities, tick bites have been recorded in at least 64 regions of the country, for example, in the Kaluga Region.
"It seems that the ticks in the Kaluga region have woken up earlier than usual and there are more of them. The reason lies in the past winter: the abundant snow cover reliably protected these arthropods from frost, which, unfortunately, led to an increase in their population," the regional department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported.
In the Vologda Region, according to weekly monitoring data, 126 tick victims have been registered since the beginning of the year, 45 of them children, the local Rospotrebnadzor said.
The press service of the Rospotrebnadzor office for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region noted that 141 people had contacted doctors from April 2 to April 8 after being bitten by ticks. Two cases of borreliosis have been reported.
Doctors from the Moscow region have recorded 148 complaints from citizens since the beginning of the year. The regional Department of Rospotrebnadzor recommends that residents use repellents, wear closed clothing when going out into the forest and seek timely medical help if a tick is found.
Izvestia asked Rospotrebnadzor to provide general statistics on tick bites for 2026.
Why are there so many ticks?
The explosive increase in the number of ticks in Russia occurred due to the snowy winter and early warming, biologist Dmitry Safonov told Izvestia. The ticks woke up a month earlier than usual.
"A thick layer of snow covered the forest floor like a duvet and prevented the soil from freezing," the expert explained. — As a result, almost all the adults, including the eggs they laid, successfully overwintered. Due to the warming climate, ticks remain active for almost the entire warm season - from March to November. Previously, the peak season was on the 20th of May and at the end of summer, but now there is a constant risk of being bitten.
Over the past 10-15 years, there have been about three times as many ticks in Russia, the biologist said. In addition, taiga and dog ticks began to explore the northern territories of the country. Previously, the border of their habitat was in St. Petersburg, the Kirov region and the Perm Region, but now these species can be found even in the Murmansk region and Karelia.
"Ticks were rare there until a certain point," Dmitry Safonov admitted. — Most often they were brought from the south or the Far East by migratory birds. But now stable populations have formed there, cases of bites are being recorded even on the White Sea coast, where ticks have never been seen before.
In addition, many individuals have developed resistance to repellents, which are also used in the treatment of parks, the expert noted. The proportion of ticks carrying dangerous diseases, such as encephalitis or Lyme disease, is also growing. This is due to an increase in the number of mouse-like rodents and insectivorous birds that support the circulation of infection in nature.
"Ticks of the Hyalomma genus have now appeared in the south of Russia (in the steppes of the Volgograd, Rostov regions, and Krasnodar Territory)," the biologist added. — Ordinary ticks, like partisans, sit in tall grass or on bushes, and hyalomma are real hunters. They purposefully crawl towards the victim, chasing her. It's very easy to distinguish them.: they are larger and have striped paws, like a zebra. These individuals are dangerous because they carry Congo-Crimean hemorrhagic fever.
The expert noted that these large ticks are mistakenly called mutants, but this is just a new species for our regions. Previously, it was found only in Africa and Asia.
How ticks behave
Ticks carry encephalitis, Lyme disease (borreliosis), anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis, Rospotrebnadzor recalled.
Tick-borne encephalitis can be prevented by vaccination. In 2025, more than 3.6 million Russians were vaccinated against it. Vaccines have not yet been developed for the prevention of Lyme disease, anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis, the ministry said. According to him, the excess of the incidence of Lyme disease has been recorded in Russia since 2024.
Tick—borne viral encephalitis is a naturally occurring viral infection affecting the central nervous system. It can occur in a mild form, resembling the flu, and pass in a few days. However, in some people, the disease can cause more severe symptoms, such as meningoencephalitis, paralysis, prolonged asthenia and sometimes disability, said Margarita Volkova, an infectious disease specialist at the Be Healthy clinic.
An employee of Rospotrebnadzor catches ticks for analysis using a white flag in the park
Andrey Pozdnyakov, an infectious disease specialist at Invitro, recalled that ticks do not climb higher than 60-80 cm on the grass, as many believe. They live in the grass and cling to mammals from the grass layer.
— There is no need to be afraid of trees, — the expert emphasized. — But the grass, even low or trimmed, can be a source of ticks. By the way, ticks infect not only mammals, but also birds, which are also capable of spreading parasites.
One of the common misconceptions is that only females bite, and males and nymphs, that is, immature forms, are harmless.
"In fact, everyone bites," Andrei Pozdnyakov assured. — Moreover, the bites of males and nymphs are much more dangerous, because they are difficult to notice due to their smaller size. We often find a female who drinks blood for several days. A male or a nymph bites for just a few minutes, and then they detach themselves and crawl away.
And the person doesn't even know that he was bitten, and yet the pathogens have already entered the bloodstream.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
