Springtime will soon come, and plant life will start to bloom once more. As pleasant as that sounds, there is another thing that rouses every spring - ticks. Spreading everywhere, from animals, pets, to humans, ticks can be a minor nuisance. But a good percentage of these ticks can transmit a disease that can cause major trouble.

According to experts, as many as 30 percent of ticks can transmit borrelia pathogens, the causative agent of Lyme borrelio that can damage joints and organs. Often undetected, one bite from a tick can introduce and spread the bacteria throughout the entire body, leaving the person infected and suffering various unexplained symptoms.

Currently, there is no vaccine against the infection, but if found in time, it can be treated. But if not urgently addressed, it can become dangerous.

That is why researchers of the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology in Leipzig, Germany, are developing a medication in close cooperation with the Swiss Company, Ixodes AG, and the Institute for Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses of the Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich to nip the infection in the bud.

This medication, in a form of a gel, will be applied directly over the tick's bite. According to researchers, if the gel is applied immediately to the bite after the tick has been removed, before symptoms appear, Lyme disease could be prevented.

They explain that this is because during the first few days, the bacteria stay right around the spot where the tick bit occurred and will only spread later.

The gel's active ingredient is azithromycin, which is highly effective against the borrelia bacteria and kills them locally in the skin. In addition, the researchers said this active ingredient has few side effects, thereby stressing the body less. However, they noted that treatment will only be successful if the gel is applied within the first few days after the tick's bite.

What Makes it Tick?

Affecting around 22,500 people in the United States in 2010, Lyme disease can be avoided only by reducing one's exposure to ticks, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

When a person has been bitten by a tick, a red, expanding rash called erythema migrans can be seen. This visible mark goes away within one to two days. However, there is no telling if one has been infected with the disease.

If untreated, early symptoms of Lyme disease include additional lesions in other areas of the body, facial or Bell's palsy, severe headaches and neck stiffness due to meningities, pain and swelling in the large joints, and shooting pains that may interfere with sleep. Long term effects of the disease include arthritis, with severe join pain and swelling, usually on the knees.