– Sometimes I had to sit in a wheelchair because I was so dizzy. I have always enjoyed watching movies, but then I just wanted to lie in bed. It is one of the worst I have experienced, says Astrid Fahlström (10). She had to be hospitalized twice when she became seriously ill with the TBE virus after a tick bite in 2019. She probably got the bite when she was playing in the woods at school. The symptoms of fever, headache and dizziness did not appear until after five days. WAS BITED: Astrid was probably bitten by a tick when she was playing in the woods at the school in Langangen in Porsgrunn. The area has several registered cases of TBE virus infection. Photo: VIGDIS HELLA / news Astrid was completely knocked out, and could barely bear to go to the bathroom. Mother Maria Fahlström thinks it was scary to see her daughter get so ill without them knowing what it was. – The GP turned white in the face when she saw the test result and said that she had to be admitted to the pediatric ward. It was absolutely horrible, she says. Astrid recovered completely after three weeks. But the experience has shocked both her and her family. – I do not think you notice that you are bitten. That’s a scary thought. Therefore, you should check in the evening, says Astrid. Have you been vaccinated against TBE virus? Record number of cases Last year, a record number were infected with the TBE virus after tick bites. 71 cases of infection were registered in Norway, figures from the National Institute of Public Health show. Before 2018, there were 10-15 cases of infection annually. If you become ill, there is no treatment. Those who become seriously ill and have to be hospitalized have problems with simple things such as walking, eating and talking. Many of them are on sick leave for several months, sometimes for a year. Expensive vaccine FHI asks children and adults who live in the areas with the TBE disease to consider the vaccine if they travel a lot in forests and fields and are often bitten by ticks. This applies to areas along the coast in Vestfold, Telemark Agder, and old Buskerud county. But the vaccine costs a lot of money. For children, the price varies between 350-500 kroner per dose. Three doses must be taken within half to one year. For an adult, it costs 700 kroner for one dose, according to the Telemark vaccination center, but the price can also be higher. For a family with two adults and children, this can mean costs of 6000-7000 kroner. Should be free Children in infected areas should get the vaccine for free through the vaccination program, says county mayor of Vestfold and Telemark, Terje Riis-Johansen. – It is quite clear that the area here has a significant tick problem. I hope it will not be the case that the wallet decides whether people should be safe when they are out in the closet in Vestfold and Telemark, says Riis-Johansen. TOO EXPENSIVE: – It is natural that this should be included in the vaccination program, especially so that children, and groups who are exposed to disease, get the same opportunity regardless of income and wallet, says county mayor of Vestfold and Telemark, Terje Riis-Johansen. Photo: VIGDIS HELLA / news Today, no vaccines are given in the vaccination program in limited geographical areas. The county mayor is surprised that the vaccine can not be introduced for a regional area of the country, where this is a problem. – When professionals are clear that this is serious, one must look at this, even if it is not a national problem, he says. The Ministry decides It is the Ministry of Health and Care Services that decides whether vaccines are to be included in the vaccination program. If this becomes a prevalence or severity that makes it meet the criteria, FHI will provide professional advice on this, points out State Secretary Ole Henrik Krat Bjørkholt. – Then we will immediately start and look at it. It will not be something we take lightly. If we get advice about it, it will be something we consider, he says. PROFESSIONAL ADVICE: – If FHI recommends that it be included in the vaccination program, for example due to an increased incidence, then it is clear that then we will take a position on it, says State Secretary Ole Henrik Krat Bjørkholt in the Ministry of Health and Care Services. Photo: Esten Borgos, Borgos Foto AS So far, FHI has not made such a recommendation. However, they monitor the incidence of reported illnesses each year and review their recommendations for the vaccine. WANT TO ASSESS: None of the vaccines in the childhood vaccination program today are given only in limited geographical areas. But FHI will look at whether it is relevant to make a new assessment, says department director in FHI, Are Stuwitz Berg. Photo: Torstein Bøe – We will also look at whether it is relevant to make a new assessment of public funding and funding scheme now that the incidence has increased, says department director at FHI, Are Stuwitz Berg. Everyone can submit method proposals for a new study to look at the financing of vaccines, he points out. Costs society Up to 50 percent of those who are admitted get residual ailments, shows a new study from Telemark Hospital. Patients who become seriously ill are hospitalized from one day to many weeks, according to the study. It costs an average of 18,080 kroner a day to be in hospital, figures from the Norwegian Medicines Agency show. Sick leave costs NOK 37,600 a month for an average employee who follows the ordinary rules in the National Insurance Scheme, according to figures from Nav. In Agder, Vestfold and Telemark, there are just over 123,000 children in the age group 0–14 years. An introduction to the vaccination program for this area can thus cost around NOK 129 million. Astrid hopes others will learn from her story and take the vaccine. – I treat no one else to get that disease. It is very easy to take the vaccine to avoid getting very sore. But it is very good if it is free for children, says Astrid.
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Want expensive tick vaccine in the vaccination program – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
