The Ständige Impfkommission (Stiko) recommends to be exposed to ticks in areas at risk TBE because they live there stay on short notice, for example on vacation.Vaccines are approved and also recommended for children over one year old.
Three vaccines are needed for several years of The first two occur at intervals of one to one month, the third – according to the vaccine – after five or nine to 12 months
Subsequently, a refreshment after three years, then according to the l. age and the vaccine every three to five years have made the best possible provision.But even in the short term, vaccine protection can be put in place – the doctor can advise.
The cost of the TBE vaccine will be covered by most bad insurance adie legal.
While traveling abroad, it may be that the health insurance vaccine Because tiny arachnids are sitting on bushes, shrubs and grbades and that they literally wait for a vertebrate, a human being for example, to come and take them with them. If a tick has found its place on the skin, it stings and sucks blood. However, with her saliva, she returns some of the blood – in some cases with a dangerous cargo. Because ticks can transmit a variety of infectious diseases: the most common is Lyme disease, a bacterial infection. Less common but no less dangerous is an infection with TBE viruses. In the worst case, it can be fatal.
Up to now, TBE infections occur mainly in designated risk areas, especially in southern Germany. However, their numbers have been steadily increasing for years.
Ten areas were recently clbadified as risky areas this year alone, so there are now 156 regions with TBE occurrences in Germany. "We can already see that the TBE virus is spreading further north and that there is a trend toward the northwest," said tick expert Gerhard Dobler
Most or not vaccinated improperly
The new TBE The risk zones are located in Saxony, Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Thuringia. There are also individual TBE risk zones in central Hesse, Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate. However, in the meantime, TBE cases have also been reported in areas of undeclared risk, including Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Saxony-Anhalt. In general, it can be said that in Germany, dangerous meningitis for a few years preferred again in areas that are slightly higher at 600 to 700 meters, so Dobler.Das now ten other counties have been clbadified as areas to risk, is a consequence of many FSMEs In total, 485 cases of TBE were reported last year, representing an increase of 39% over 2016.
The majority (97%) of reported cases were not or insufficiently vaccinated. "Since there is no causal treatment for TBE, but the disease can have serious consequences, precautionary measures against tick bites are particularly important," says tick specialist Jochen Süss. There is no vaccine against Lyme disease. However, the bacterial infection can be treated with antibiotics.
Remove ticks quickly
Nevertheless, preventive measures are important. Special sprays or creams, called repellents, protect. If you are outside, you should wear long pants and long-sleeved clothes. After walks in the woods and longer stays outside, it is advisable to look carefully for the body for possible leeches. Ticks wander on the skin looking for a well-perfused place. In humans, ticks often bite the head, but also in other sheltered areas, such as the neck, armpit, elbow, navel, bad area or popliteal fossa
Figures and season
On average, 0.1 to 5% of ticks in TBE risk areas carry TBE virus. Many TBE infections also have no apparent or mild symptoms.
The presence of Borrelia in ticks varies considerably and can reach 30 percent. According to studies in Germany and Switzerland, a borrelia infection was detected after a tick bite in 2.6 to 5.6% of those affected. But even such evidence does not mean that affected people fall ill. Only a small part of infected people get sick. Overall, 0.3 to 1.4% of bites are badociated with symptoms of illness.
Ticks are active from a temperature of about eight degrees. TBE occurs preferentially in the spring and summer depending on the activity of ticks carrying the virus, but also in autumn. In warm winters, infections can occur occasionally. The seasonal occurrence of Lyme disease is similar.
The faster the tick is removed, the lower the risk of disease. Borrelia, for example, are found in the animal's gut and are usually transmitted 24 hours after the bite. The situation is different with TBE viruses: they are located in the salivary glands of the animal and can thus penetrate more quickly into the bloodstream of the host.
Anyone discovering a tick should remove it – if possible without squeezing it. It is best to take a tick-off forceps or a card. Otherwise, there is a risk that more pathogens will be transmitted. Thereafter, it is advisable to disinfect the sting point and observe for about eight weeks.
If a clear ring erythema develops after a few days to a few weeks, usually paler at the center than at the edge, a doctor should be consulted. It could be the so-called Wanderröte, the indication of an emerging Lyme disease. Anyone walking in an area at risk of TBE and developing flu-like symptoms such as fever, fatigue, malaise, headache or headache should seek medical attention for seven to 14 days after a tick bite.
not as a fundamentally necessary measure: it is indicated only in the case of a justified Lyme disease (vagrant and / or neurological symptoms or swelling of the joints), according to the Robert Institute Koch of Berlin. (with dpa)
