After being bitten by a tick in Greece, a woman spent 42 days in a coma
While on vacation on the Greek island of Syros in 2019, Victoria Stellas experienced flu-like symptoms. After returning home, her condition worsened—she began experiencing nighttime seizures, and doctors were initially unable to determine the cause of her health problems.
She was eventually taken to the Walton Center in Liverpool, where, following tests, she was placed in an induced coma for 42 days. Since then, Victoria has lost her memory, suffers from seizures, and is currently forced to take 18 pills a day.
Victoria was later diagnosed with tick-borne encephalitis (TBE)—a potentially life-threatening inflammation of the brain.
“It has completely changed my life. Aside from work, I don’t leave the house as often anymore,” said the 51-year-old woman.
Victoria believes she was bitten by a tick while at her son-in-law’s house, since he has goats that might attract ticks.
She explained, “I was constantly having seizures, and no one knew what was wrong with me. It was an unusual infection, and it seems they didn’t have specialists who could diagnose it.”
“All in all, about six months passed from the time I was admitted to the hospital until my treatment was completed. Now I’m often quiet. I used to be very sociable,” she said.
Victoria explained that because of her symptoms, she lost her job at a pub and her position as a teacher’s assistant at a school for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
She said, “Name a job that doesn’t require memory. Everything you do in life requires memory: shopping, work, traveling.”
“When I returned home and tried to go back to my job as a teacher’s assistant… I couldn’t remember the names of the children in the different classes or the staff members.”
“I recognized everyone, but I couldn’t remember their names—and that’s still a problem.”
According to the British National Health Service (NHS), tick-borne encephalitis is a viral infection transmitted through the bites of ticks common in Europe, Russia, and certain regions of China and Japan.
The NHS notes that the risk of contracting encephalitis in the UK is very low, as is the risk of serious illness following a bite.
About a week after a bite, symptoms such as fatigue, headache, and signs of infection—including seizures, confusion, or speech difficulties, as well as loss of mobility in part of the body—may appear.
The NHS recommends that people planning an active vacation in countries where this infection is common get vaccinated against encephalitis at least one month before their trip.
Victoria, who was born and raised in Greece and moved to Wales at the age of five, returns there every year on vacation but was unaware that a vaccine existed.
She hopes to raise awareness about this infection and urges people to get vaccinated before traveling to high-risk regions, as well as when spending time in forested areas or near animals.
Once a year, she shares her story with students at Bangor University.
Victoria now takes 15 to 18 pills a day and has had to develop her own strategies to remember how to perform everyday tasks.
Her nighttime seizures now “don’t happen as regularly as they used to,” she said, adding, “I sleep with my mom now.”
“I’ve been lucky to have family and friends who have supported me throughout all these years,” she says.
Public Health Wales (PHW) reported: “When in areas where ticks may be present, people should wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants, apply insect repellent to exposed skin, and stay on clearly marked trails whenever possible.”
“After spending time outdoors, it’s important to check your body, clothing, and pets for ticks and remove any attached ticks as soon as possible using a special tick removal tool or fine-tipped tweezers.”
“Prompt removal of a tick reduces the risk of certain tick-borne infections.”
Benedict Michael, a professor at the University of Liverpool who specializes in zoonotic infections, said that the number of encephalitis cases worldwide has increased over the past 30 years.
Although cases are more common in Europe and East Asia, he noted that it would be “too broad a generalization” to identify specific hotspots.
He added that cases such as the one in Victoria “fortunately occur relatively rarely.”
“Generally speaking, 3% of people develop a complication in the form of brain inflammation, while 97% of people will either have no symptoms at all or will experience a relatively short-lived, albeit unpleasant, severe flu-like phase,” he said.
“This is a serious illness because we do not have effective antiviral drugs to treat it,” he added. “Therefore, when a person develops encephalitis, as in Victoria’s case, the main task for medical professionals is to support the body’s condition and prevent seizures and other similar complications.”
Benedict Michael also emphasized that this disease can be prevented through vaccination, which is why it is important to raise awareness about it.
BBC News Ukraine previously reported that in recent years, Ukraine has seen an increase in cases of borreliosis, or Lyme disease, which is also spread by ticks.
The BBC tells the woman’s story.
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